Indochina 1886
by Sanae
Summary: AU. After her father's death, Relena must travel from England to Indochina to join Milliardo, her brother and only living relative.
1. Chapter One

A/N: This is my first AU fan fiction! I hope I don't mess things up too much and I keep the characters' personalities as close as possible to the original ones, also, I will try to be as accurate as possible with historical and geographical facts but, if you notice something really wrong, please tell me immediately. Thank you!

Disclaimer: NO, I DON'T OWN GUNDAM WING, I'M NOT MAKING ANY MONEY FOR THIS SO, PLEASE DON'T SUE!

** Indochina 1886 **

Chapter One

Penzance, England 1886.

Relena was still wearing the black dress she had put on for her father's funeral. She was sitting on her bed with a piece of paper in her hands. It was a telegram. She read it once more still not believing its contents. Then, she heard a knock on the door.

"Is that you Paygan?" asked Relena putting the telegram down.

"No…it's me, Hilde…may I come in?" the girl heard her best friend say through the door.

"Of course…" replied Relena getting up.

The door opened and a girl with an unusually short black hair came in. Hilde had been born in Germany to a German woman and an English man. After her parents had died of some strange fever when she was only four years old, she had been adopted by her father's older sister that lived very close to the Peacecraft's manor in Penzance, in the English county of Cornwall. Relena and Hilde had been friends ever since.

"How are you coping?" asked Hilde sitting on a chair near a window.

"I'm not sure yet…too many things have happened in a very short time…" replied the girl sitting back down on her bed, then she added, "your really shouldn't have stayed…you should have gone on your honeymoon…".

"Are you crazy? Do you think I would leave you in a moment like this? Besides, as much as I love Duo, I've been married to him for three days, I've known you for almost fifteen years!" said Hilde looking at Relena while playing with her brand new wedding band.

Hilde had met Duo, an American man, during one of her aunt's rare trips to London. It had been love at the first sight. Three days after, Hilde came back to Penzance with a solitaire and the promise to marry him. They had got married two weeks after that. It had been during her wedding that Relena's father had started feeling poorly. He had died the very next day.

"Read this…" said Relena ignoring her friend's last comment and passing the telegram to Hilde.

"What is this? Oh dear!" said Hilde as soon as she had finished reading it.

"I know…can you believe it, he left over ten years ago…I can't even say I know him at all…and now he wants me to go and live with him…" replied Relena.

"Well, he is your brother after all…I'm sure he'll take care of you…besides, you can't stay here by yourself, you know that…" commented Hilde.

"Yes, I know but… Burma…that's so far away!" exclaimed Relena.

"Where is it anyway? Is it near America?" asked Hilde.

"No, is in South East Asia, is one of the new colonies..." replied Relena almost laughing, Hilde seemed to be obsessed with the country she would soon travel to.

"Oh my gosh!! That is what…the other side of the globe?" asked Hilde shocked.

"Yes it is, but how about you my dear Hilde…you're going to go to America soon…aren't you scared?" said Relena feeling upset but trying not to show it.

"Not really…Duo is travelling with me…He's told me all about New York, I can't wait to get there it will be such an adventure for me. Can you believe it? I'm going to the new world!" said Hilde cheerily. Seeing Relena so depressed made her get angry with herself for being so insensitive, Hilde quickly added, "I'm sorry Relena…I…".

"Don't worry about me…I'm very pleased you've finally found a man who will make you happy. Is just that I wish I could stay here…I don't want to leave England…I'm going to miss this house, I will miss Penzance, the beautiful Cornish countryside…and, specially, I will miss you Hilde…like you said I've known you all my life…" said Relena starting to cry.

Hilde quickly got up and sat next to her friend. Putting an arm around her shoulders, she said:

"Don't be silly…we may not see each other but…we will be friends forever…if you give me your brother's address, I will write to you as often as you want me to…and, who knows, we may meet up again one day…".

"Thank you Hilde…I really hope so…in any case, I really wish you the best with Duo, he seems a very nice man…" replied Relena trying to brighten up.

"Oh but, you may meet a man as nice as Duo there in Burma…who knows?" said Hilde happy to see that Relena had finally smiled.

"Well, you know what they say…you can't fool destiny…" said Relena not knowing that she would remember those words for the rest of her life.

Five days after, all the furniture in the house was covered with sheets. The things that Relena could not take with her, had been packed and stored away. Maude, the maid, had been hired by another family. Relena, after taking a good look around the house where she had been born, went to the main entrance and, with a heavy heart, closed the door where Paygan, her most loyal servant, a butler who had become part of the family, was waiting for her.

The lawyers who had taken care of the Peacecraft's will, had decided that they would wait to see what her brother Milliardo, the heir of all the Peacecraft estate, decided what to do with the house and the other family assets.

Relena got in the carriage that would take her to Southampton. Taking a last look at her big house, and to the countryside that surrounded it, told Paygan she was ready to leave.

They finally made it to the busy Southampton harbour. From there, many ships left to several destinations around the globe. The trip to Burma would last several weeks so she had bought a few books about the country to pass the time. This way she hoped she would stay relatively sane given all the time she would spend stuck in that ship.

Hilde and Duo had come with them since they were leaving the day after to New York. Duo was definitely a nice man, he was funny and extremely talkative, and it was very obvious he cared a lot about Hilde. She hoped that, one day, she would also find a man like that.

The two young woman hugged each other and, against their will, started crying. Finally, Relena boarded the ship and, after greeting, like everyone else onboard, the people who had stayed on the harbour, waited for the ship to start undocking.

After a while, the land started getting farther and farther away. Relena stayed where she was till she saw the last of it. Then she started crying again, she would definitely miss her country.

After God knows how long seeing only sea and the occasional stop for supplies, Paygan announced that they were leaving the sea and had started their way up the Rangoon river and soon they would be arriving to the homonymous city, the capital of Burma.

As soon as they disembarked, Paygan started looking around trying to find someone that would resemble to the young boy he had taken care of all those years ago. In fact, Milliardo had left England when he was only 13 years old to 'see the world' with his uncle Robert, the youngest brother Milliardo's and Relena's father.

Relena looked around herself. This was just a mess. It was a huge difference between this harbour and the organised one in Southampton. There were people everywhere…no one seemed to respect any rule so there was the most absurd chaos that Relena had seen in her life.

Looking up she saw the huge gold pagoda standing proudly near the city. She made a mental note to visit it.

Suddenly, Paygan felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw a young man in his early twenties with very long blond hair two or three shades lighter than Relena's. His eyes were also lighter than those of the sister and, right now they sparkled with happiness.

"Paygan! Thank goodness you haven't changed a bit otherwise it may have been difficult to find you here…where is that sister of mine?" asked the young man. Paygan could not believe his eyes. That man was Milliardo Peacecraft!

"I'm here brother…" replied Relena. Milliardo looked positively shocked. That beautiful young woman was his baby sister?

"Relena? Oh my Lord you've changed so much! You are now…eighteen, aren't you?" asked Milliardo not fully recovering from the shock.

"Yes I am and I do hope I have changed a bit since the last time you saw me…" commented hoping not to sound too ironic.

"Oh well…of course, but…let's try to get home, we've got so much to catch up with…" replied Milliardo feeling quite inadequate, he certainly had not expected to find a beautiful woman instead of the little girl he used to tease so much ten years ago.

After getting away from the messy harbour, they reached a carriage that would take them to the plantation that Relena knew had been assigned to her brother. Milliardo had fought during the last war against the Burmese and, in recognition for his work, the governor had given him plenty of land next to the river where to build a plantation. Milliardo had done so with some of the money that uncle Robert, after his death, had left him.

During the way, Relena got to see some locals planting rice. Then there were some temples that Relena quickly added to the list of the things she wanted to see. Even if she was not happy to be there, she had decided to get to know her new home as soon as possible.

"I didn't know you lived in the middle of the forest…" commented Relena seeing so many trees when they were following the road to the main house.

"This is not a forest, they are my trees, these ones on the left are rubber trees, those on the right are teak trees. Behind the house you'll see the cotton fields" Milliardo replied proudly.

Milliardo spent the rest of their journey telling her facts about the country. The wars that Britain had to fight till finally a few months ago, the Burmese had surrendered and Britain had claimed ownership of this land.

They soon arrived to the house, a huge construction in European style, with huge white columns in front of it and big stairs leading to the front door. There a woman was waiting for them. She had dark short hair and immediately reminded Relena of Hilde.

"Relena, meet my wife Lucrezia Noin, she's from Sicily, Italy…I hope you'll become good friends…" said Milliardo as soon as they got off the carriage.

"Of course we will…" Lucrezia quickly replied with surprisingly good English, the she added "and, to celebrate your homecoming, I have decided to organise a ball in your honour…this way we will introduce you to everybody, I hope that is not a problem?" announced Lucrezia looking at Relena kindly.

"Of course not, I will be delighted…" replied Relena trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Who knows? You may even meet your future husband there…" said Milliardo casually.

Relena, tired from the trip, did not pay attention to neither those words nor the way Lucrezia glared at him.

END OF CHAPTER ONE


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Rangoon riverside, Burma 1886

Relena woke up feeling the usual disorientation feeling that one has when sleeping in a different place for the first time. At first she couldn't remember where she was. When she did she felt her heart sink. This morning, she wouldn't be able to open the window and see the beautiful seaside and the green, Cornish countryside.

Instead, she felt the same sticky heat she had felt the day before. She desperately needed some new dresses. The woollen ones were out of the question and the only one that was summery enough, a nice cotton flowery dress, was no longer appropriate for her age.

She finally decided for a light blue linen one. It left her neck slightly uncovered and it had short sleeves. Even though linen was supposed to be a cool fabric, with all the layers of fabric she wore underneath, she hardly felt any difference.

She decided to brush her blond mane and, after plaiting it, she rolled and pinned it up her head. It took her a huge effort to get washed and dressed by herself but the maid Lucrezia had introduced to her the previous evening, was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, she left the room and started wandering through the corridors. She couldn't remember the way to the living room so she got lost.

"Miss, can I help you?" a young local girl, coming out of the blue, asked her in English.

"Yes, actually, I'm lost…I'm trying to find my brother Milliardo or his wife, do you know where they are?" replied Relena happy to find someone in that huge house.

"Sure, Mr Peacecraft is out in the plantation like every morning, Mrs Peacecraft is having breakfast in the terrace. I'll show you the way if you wish…" said the girl smiling .

"That would be very kind. Thank you" replied Relena politely.

As the girl had said, Lucrezia was indeed in a terrace placed in the back of the house which overlooked at the cotton fields. She was sitting having a coffee and reading a newspaper.

"Ah Relena, good morning…I'm sorry I didn't wake you up…I thought you would need your rest… but wait, did you dress yourself this morning? Why didn't you ask the maid to come and help you?" asked Lucrezia seeing that her sister in law had not been able to properly do the buttons at the back of the dress.

"Well, I didn't know where to find her…" replied Relena quite honestly.

"You just have to pull the cord next to your bed and she'll be there in no time…" informed Lucrezia asking her with a gesture to sit down next to her.

"Lucrezia, where can I get some new dresses made?" asked Relena as soon as she had helped herself to tome toast with butter.

"Oh, I'm actually going to town today to pick some fabric for the dress for the ball and I was hoping you would come with me…" replied Lucrezia putting down the paper that, as Relena saw, was in a foreign language completely unknown to her. She decided it was probably Italian.

Half an hour later, they were in the carriage on their way to the city of Rangoon, Relena had read about that city but was surprised to see how beautiful it was.

They stopped by Lucrezia's usual dressmaker's shop and, after browsing through some fabrics, Lucrezia ordered two evening dresses, one for Relena and the other for herself, and some summer dresses for Relena.

Relena was scandalised by the design of the dresses Lucrezia was buying for her. They left good part of her neck, shoulders AND breasts, uncovered. Two straps of fabric pretended to be sleeves and the major shock came when Lucrezia told her that she only wore a thin chemise and a pair of knickerbockers underneath the dress. Relena thought she would never be able to wear them. She was used to the Victorian style dresses, very conservative and made using a considerable larger amount of fabric.

In any case, Lucrezia insisted that this was the way colonialist women dressed so they ended up buying them.

Each day of the following week was spent following the same routine. In the morning, Relena and Lucrezia would have breakfast together, then they dedicated sometime to walk around the plantation and Lucrezia would tell her all about it and answer to all the questions Relena had.

Then, Milliardo joined the two women for lunch and then, after spending sometime with them, he would leave again to either check something on the property or to meet up with his friends.

The day ended with the three of them having dinner and, after playing chess while Milliardo read something, they would all go to bed.

Relena had learnt that Milliardo was a rather strong man and everyone, with the possible exception of his wife, was terrified of him. Relena did not know how to behave in front of him, she was scared she would do something that may upset him so she was really careful.

Lucrezia was totally different, she was a really nice girl and, thankfully, was becoming a true friend to Relena. They spent hours talking about their respective countries. Relena found out that Lucrezia missed Sicily almost as much as Relena missed Penzance. She had also learned that her family had left Sicily to move to the Australian region of Queensland where a colony of Italian people lived. It had been there that Lucrezia had met Milliardo and her father had agreed to let him marry her.

Relena still missed Hilde but, receiving a letter from her, made Relena feel a bit better. Hilde was telling her that New York was indeed as great as she had imagined. They lived in a big house which Hilde described in full detail. Duo was being great and, although he was quite busy, Hilde had learnt to occupy her time. She was currently reading the American constitution and the history of the 110 year old country.

The day of the ball arrived, after all the preparations were done, the two ladies of the house went to their respective rooms to get ready.

Relena, while the maid was doing her hair, glanced at the dress she was supposed to wear. It was light yellow and made of silk. The neck was low, almost indecently low. Around the edges, there was a white ribbon that gave it an almost childish look.

As soon as she was finished, she looked at her image reflected on the mirror. The gasp of admiration from the maid confirmed that it was not that bad. Pulling the neckline up a bit, she decided that was ready.

She got to the main living room and found that Milliardo and Lucrezia were already there. Lucrezia was wearing a beautiful dark blue dress which made her look very sexy without being at all vulgar. Milliardo was wearing his military uniform and was breathtakingly handsome. Relena understood why Lucrezia was so crazy about him.

Milliardo saw his sister and, taking a couple of steps towards her, said:

"Why Relena…you are…you're quite a sight…I don't think I should let you be at the party after all…".

"He's joking of course…but I have to agree that my choice of dress looks even better than I expected…you're beautiful!" added Lucrezia.

"Thank you…so are you…brother, I think you should pay attention to your wife as well…" said Relena regretting such a bold statement almost immediately.

"Touché dear baby sister…" replied Milliardo with a smile and, offering both of his arms to Relena and Lucrezia, added "Ladies, I believe our first guests have arrived…".

The ballroom was soon full of all sorts of people. Relena got introduced to so many people that she could hardly remember any of the names. She was talking to a nice girl whose name she couldn't remember when her brother made a gesture and asked her to go to him. Excusing herself with the pretty girl, she walked towards Milliardo.

"Relena…here, I would like to introduce you Mr Treize Khushrenada, he's our governor and, I'm lucky to say, a good friend of mine…Treize, this is my little sister, Relena…".

Relena looked up and found herself staring at a very tall man with short dark red hair. He was extremely elegant and had an air of complete self confidence that probably made him very attractive to women. Relena though, felt a bit overwhelmed, Milliardo and Treize made her feel ridiculously small and fragile.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Peacecraft, I thought your brother was making you up when he spoke about you…although he never told me you were such a beautiful creature…" Treize's voice, as she had imagined, sounded as confident as its owner.

Relena was going to reply when a woman with red hair dressed with an even redder dress, grabbed Treize's arm possessively and said:

"Don't listen to my dear husband here…he's got a horrible habit of embarrassing nice young ladies such as yourself…".

"Ah…meet my lovely wife, Une...Darling, this is Relena, she's Milliardo's sister…" replied Treize coolly ignoring his wife's display of jealousy.

Then, a third man joined the group. It was a young gentleman wearing an impeccable evening suit. His hair was brushed all to one side almost hiding one of his green emerald eyes.

"Monsieur Peacecraft, Monsieur Khushrenada…Madame Khushrenada…" greeted the newcomer with a very strong French accent, then looking at Relena and without bothering to hide his admiration, said "Ah…and you must be the long awaited lost sister…Mademoiselle Relena Peacecraft, why…it's a pleasure to meet you…I'm Trowa Barton, your humble servant…".

Relena was quite shocked at the French man's unconventional way to introduce one self but, using the strict discipline she had been given, said with her most polite voice:

"How do you do Mr Barton?".

"Oh…no Mr no…you must call me Trowa…I would be honoured if you conceded me a dance…" replied Trowa bowing.

Relena accepted and, taking Trowa's arm, let him lead her to the centre of the room. There was a band playing a very popular waltz and soon, Relena found herself spinning around the room.

The ball was almost over, the last guests were about to leave when Relena, almost by coincidence, heard a conversation between Milliardo and Lucrezia that were standing just outside the main entrance waving goodbye the last of the carriages.

"Have you told her?" she heard Lucrezia asking.

"Not yet…I don't know how to…" Milliardo's voice replied.

"Well, I would tell her as soon as possible…the monsoon is coming and she will need to get to Hanoi before it starts…" said Lucrezia resolutely.

"What should I tell her then?" Milliardo asked.

"You should just tell her that you've arranged for her to marry Trowa Barton…it should be clear enough…" said Lucrezia shocking Relena so much that she dropped the glass of tonic water she was drinking.

The couple stopped talking and, turning around, found a very shocked Relena staring at them. Milliardo was about to speak when Relena, turning on her heels, started running towards her room.

"RELENA!!!" she heard his voice calling her.

END OF CHAPTER TWO


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Running through the corridors, Relena finally managed to get to her room. After making sure that the door was safely locked, the blond girl threw herself on the bed. She was crying.

She had never felt so betrayed in her life. She just couldn't believe that they had been planning her own wedding without bothering to ask her opinion first.

Relena heard a soft knock on the door.

"Relena…open the door…please…" she heard her brother's voice through the door. Then, not hearing a reply, Milliardo started knocking harder but, he stopped almost immediately.

"If you do this you'll scare her…let me handle this…" she heard her sister in law's voice saying. Then Lucrezia, speaking to her, said, "Relena darling…I know you're upset…we didn't want you to find out this way…please let me in so I can explain…"

Relena opened the door interrupting what Lucrezia was saying.

"I will speak only to you…" Relena said looking at her sister in law. Milliardo tried to say something but Lucrezia, seeing that Relena had been crying, stopped him putting a hand on his arm.

"Alright…Milliardo will go to his study while we talk…" replied Lucrezia coming in through the door, locking it and leaving Milliardo behind it.

Relena walked back to the bed but did not sit on it. With her arms crossed on her chest,she didn't even wait for Lucrezia to take a seat:

"I thought we were becoming friends…how could you keep something like that from me?" Relena said furiously.

"Relena, I realise that you are upset…believe me, so was I when my father accepted Milliardo's proposal without asking me first…but, Monsieur Barton is a very good man…he'll take care of you. Besides, Milliardo knows him very well and I can assure you that this choice has been carefully made…" replied Lucrezia taking a seat on the room's small settee.

"Carefully made? But I don't even know him…how can it be a carefully made choice if it is not MY choice, huh?" said Relena stubbornly.

"Relena, you know that women of our class don't get to choose these things…In any case, let me tell you that Monsieur Barton is positively impressed with you. He has personally said to Milliardo that you are even more beautiful than he expected…he's an excellent man, a good member of the society and he's also immensely rich…" said Lucrezia.

"What about love? I don't love him…how can I marry him?" Relena said shocked that Lucrezia could be as shallow as to consider a man's wealth or social status before what Relena thought to be the base of every relationship, love.

"Ah…Relena…you're so young…you will learn to love him…don't worry about that…the same way I have learnt to love your brother…it's a question of time and…trust me, that kind of love you're talking about, that passionate feeling, doesn't last…but, a relationship built on mutual respect and friendship, that lasts forever…" said Lucrezia shocking Relena even more.

"But…" the blond girl objected.

"No but Relena…I once thought like you do but…life teaches you that you have to think ahead and by doing so, you realise that being sensible, in the long run, pays off…besides, we're lucky because we get our loved ones to pick our husband for us and, since they love us, they always make the right choice for us. Think of the lower class girls, they have to choose by themselves, and they make so many mistakes…they end up suffering so much..." said Lucrezia resolutely.

Relena was not entirely convinced by what she was saying and, Lucrezia, sensing this, added:

"Your brother loves you Relena, he would never make you marry the wrong sort of guy. We know Monsieur Barton very well and we know he'll take care of you…" Lucrezia said not leaving any room for discussion.

"I know that he's a nice man…well, I think so anyway…is just that, he's so quiet…he hardly spoke a single word while we were dancing tonight…he only replied to my questions with either monosyllabic words or saying as little as possible…" commented Relena finally sitting down. She was beginning to get a headache.

"Well, all the better…believe me, it is better if he's not too chatty…otherwise you would never have peace…" said Lucrezia laughing softly.

"Besides…you'll be also doing a service to your country…" said Lucrezia puzzling Relena.

"A service? What kind of service?" the blond girl asked.

"I'm not supposed to know this but…by marrying Monsieur Barton, you'll grant us the stability that Britain desperately needs in Burma. You know that there have been three major conflicts with the Burmese…well, the French would be happy to see that Britain fails once again so they can take over and claim ownership of Burma as well as their current territories…Well, governor Khushrenada has agreed with the French governor that, by marrying some of the British colonialists' daughters to the sons of the French plantation owners, they would create an alliance that would benefit both France and Britain. This way we will protect each other's land from the rebellious natives…"

"Does Monsieur Barton know this?" asked Relena even more confused.

"Of course, it is one of the reasons why he has accepted this marriage. Also, he's said that his duty will be easier because you're so beautiful…And, you have to admit that Monsieur Barton is quite a handsome man too…In my opinion you're the perfect match…" said Lucrezia enthusiastically.

Relena, hearing all of this, started giving in. Maybe, after all, it was not that bad…If she thought rationally, Lucrezia's way of thinking made perfect sense.

The only small problem was a little voice coming from her heart telling her that the whole thing was wrong. That one should only marry out of love, not because of wealth or social position and, even less because of politics.

Ignoring this little voice, Relena heard herself saying:

"Alright then…I'll marry Monsieur Barton…".

"Brilliant…I'll go and tell Milliardo…we have to organise the trip to Hanoi…I've actually managed to convince your brother to let you spend some time in the Barton residence so you get to know each other BEFORE the wedding…isn't that grand?" said Lucrezia happy to see that the young woman had come to her senses.

"You won't be coming with me?" asked Relena concerned.

"I'm afraid not, we'll be going there in two weeks time, just before the wedding…but my best friend Sally will be coming with you as your chaperone…she's a doctor and she's half Chinese, half English…she'll also be the interpreter for the guides…She's a lot of fun to be with..." Lucrezia said getting up ready to leave the room.

Before closing the door after her, Lucrezia said to Relena one last thing:

"You will not regret your decision, I guarantee you you've made a most wise choice…".

Relena, somehow, was not as convinced as her sister in law but, the blond girl thought that there would be plenty of time to persuade herself that it was for her own good.

A week after the ball, with all her new dresses packed away, Relena started to get ready for yet another long trip.

Relena was very sad, she had had so little time to get to know the place as well as she had expected but, again, it didn't really matter, after all, this was not going to be her home anyway.

She hoped that Hanoi would be as beautiful as Rangoon.

Once more, she found herself taking a look around the room she had occupied for the last few weeks. Then, leaving her big trunk and two suitcases there, took her handbag and went to the terrace where she will have her last breakfast in the Peacecraft residence.

When she got there, she heard two female voices, one belonged to Lucrezia, the other one had a funny accent. Its owner was a tallish woman with long blond hair arranged in two broad plaits. She was very beautiful with her almond shaped blue eyes being an unmistakable sign of her Chinese origin.

"Good morning, you must be Sally…" said Relena.

"Yes, that's me…and you must be Relena…it's a pleasure to meet you…" replied the girl named Sally.

"Likewise…" said Relena smiling, she had taken an instant liking for her sister in law's best friend.

"Well, like I was saying, we're travelling with one of the best guides I know. He's Chinese but he's been all his life around this land so he knows it like the back of his hand. He's told me he's bringing with him a friend for our protection….they should be here in half an hour…so you better get something to eat because, if I know him one bit, we will stop only if strictly necessary…" explained Sally.

Relena, obeying, sat down and started eating breakfast. Observing Sally, Relena noticed that she was wearing a wedding band.

"Is your husband coming with us, Sally?" she couldn't help but ask.

"No darling…my husband died a year ago…" explained Sally.

"Oh…I'm sorry…I…" stuttered Relena.

"Don't worry…we had been married for only three weeks, I can hardly say that I knew him…" replied Sally with such brutal honesty that Relena refrained from saying anything else.

Meanwhile the three women finished their breakfast, the servants placed Relena's belongings in the carriage they were going to use to go to Hanoi.

Relena, Sally and Lucrezia went to the front door. Milliardo was waiting for them next to the carriage.

"Relena, this is for you…Monsieur Barton left it here for me to give it to you…" Milliardo said handing her a small velvet box.

Opening it, Relena saw a beautiful solitaire ring. She looked up to her brother and gave him a questioning look.

"Yes Relena, that is your engagement ring…put it on, if you like it…".

Taking it from the box she put it on her left ring finger. The sunlight made it sparkle. It was a very beautiful ring, the only fault was that Relena had dreamed that her future husband would give it himself, hopefully with the moonlight and on one knee. Again, Relena had started to realise that those were little girl's dreams and that reality was a lot harsher.

She was so immersed in her own thoughts that did not realise the two men coming on two horses.

"Relena, meet Chang Wu Fei, he's going to be our guide all the way from Rangoon to Hanoi…" said Sally bringing Relena back to the real world.

The blond girl looked up from her left hand to the Chinese man standing in front of her. He was definitely Chinese. He had black hair tied in a short ponytail. His black eyes looked at her so patronisingly that Relena didn't know whether to be angry or to simply laugh.

"How do you do Mr Wu Fei?" Relena said and hearing Sally laugh, asked, "What did I say that was so funny?".

Sally was about to reply but the Chinese man did it for her:

"Wu Fei is my first name...Chang is the surname…so it would be Mr Chang...but, I would prefer if you called me Wu Fei…".

"Sure…then I would like you to call me Relena…" she said with her best smile.

"No…that would be most inappropriate…Miss Peacecraft…" Wu Fei replied startling Relena, then, before she could add anything, Wu Fei said "Sally, this is the man I was telling you about, his name is Heero Yuy and he's from Japan…".

Relena looked at the man standing next to Wu Fei. How she had not seen him before was an enigma. His dark brown hair was left completely at the mercy of the wind and he had the strangest colour of eyes for a Japanese person. They were a deep shade of blue. His body told everybody that he was used to intense physical exercise. He was just…wild. And he had the word 'trouble' all over him.

Trying to ignore the irrational feeling of fear, Relena said:

"How do you do Mr Yuy…".

Without even bothering to return the salute, the man named Heero Yuy said something in a tongue Relena could not understand. Seeing that Sally knew what he was saying, Relena gathered that it had to be Chinese.

"They said it is better to get moving…" Sally said seeing Relena's confused expression.

So, after saying goodbye to Milliardo and Lucrezia, Relena boarded the carriage following Sally. Then, Wu Fei and Heero mounted on their horses and led the way for the carriage.

END OF CHAPTER THREE


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Ten hours after they had left the Peacecraft residence, Wu Fei decided to stop for the night. The day had been a small nightmare for Relena, although Sally had tried her best to cheer her up, the young woman was not used to this kind of trips.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the view from the carriage, thankfully it was an open one and, since Sally herself was driving it, Relena could distract herself with the pagodas, the temples and other magnificent constructions they found along the way.

A few times she had found herself observing the two men in front of them. Wu Fei seemed to be enjoying the ride and, every now and then, turned around to speak to Sally, naturally, in Chinese. Heero didn't speak a single word. He just rode silently.

He turned around just once and found Relena staring at him. Relena blushed quite violently and tried to cover her face with the straw hat she was wearing to protect her fair skin from the sun.

Half way to the border they stopped briefly to eat the packed lunch Lucrezia had given to them. Relena hoped that, this time, she would be able to start a conversation.

"So, how long do you think we will be travelling Wu Fei?".

"Six days, five if you don't hold us up…" he replied starling Relena with his rudeness.

"He meant if we're not held up…" said Sally glaring at Wu Fei, then, with a wink and smiling , added "His English is not very good…".

This provoked a glare from Wu Fei but, Sally, instead of being afraid, she just gave a small laugh.

Turning her attention to the Japanese man, Relena, gathering all her courage, managed to ask:

"How long have you been in Indochina?" .

Then Heero did something strange. He got up, said something in Chinese and walked towards the horses.

"His English is not very good either…" said Sally trying to justify him. Then she asked Wu Fei something in Chinese and Wu Fei replied. Unfortunately, Sally 'forgot' to translate the exchange so Relena was left there feeling stupid for not understanding anything.

That was Relena's first and last attempt to talk to Heero that day.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Relena asked Sally seeing that they were stopping for the night.

"Wu Fei is going to speak to the owner of that house over there to see if he's got any room for us…" Sally replied, in fact Wu Fei had got off his horse while Heero stayed near the carriage.

"Sally…is not that I don't feel safe but, why is it that my brother is sending me away without any protection other than Wu Fei and Heero?" Relena asked.

"Well, to start with, we've just finished a war against the Burmese and they still don't appreciate the presence of British soldiers around their villages…also, they would be able to accompany us only up to the border…the same applies to the French soldiers once we cross the border tomorrow morning. There's a lot of tension in Indochina at the moment…we're travelling with Wu Fei because he's got an extensive knowledge of this land and its people. Regarding our safety you have to know that he's a master in martial arts and sword fighting so, he can defend us alright but he won't be offending any of the locals..." explained Sally.

Relena thought for a minute or two that Sally seemed to be very fond of Wu Fei. She quickly put aside that thought thinking she was getting a bit paranoid.

"And what about Heero?" Relena asked not caring whether the man could hear them or not.

"I don't know much about him, I think he used to be a samurai in his homeland…" Sally whispered to Relena.

Relena took a furtive look at the Japanese man. He was sitting on his horse with his face as expressionless as that morning. It seemed as though as he did not feel anything ever. 'A samurai?' Relena thought. That sounded very scary indeed.

They spent the night in a tiny house. There were three people living there, a young couple with a small boy. The couple gave up their room so Relena and Sally could sleep there. Relena felt very grateful so she insisted on helping the housewife and, while she was cooking, Relena busied herself feeding the young boy.

"You're good with kids…" commented Sally seeing how well Relena was getting on with the boy.

"Well, I used to help a friend of mine…she was a school teacher…" said Relena thinking of the days she spent helping Hilde in her job in the village's school.

"That's good…you'll be a good mother then…" commented Sally casually.

Relena, suddenly, realised that having agreed to marry Monsieur Barton, she had also agreed to have his children. That thought shocked her so much that she had almost dropped the wooden spoon she was using to feed the little boy.

"Are you alright Relena? Is it something I said?" Sally said concerned.

"Yes, I'm sorry…is just…oh, it doesn't matter…" Relena said feeling all flustered. Instinctively, she looked up and saw Heero staring at her. He had a strange look in his eyes but Relena couldn't make up what it meant.

Once the boy had finished his food, Relena tried to get him to sleep. She was very lucky because the boy was pretty tired so he fell asleep fairly quickly.

The mother, seeing her baby sleeping, stopped cooking and said something in her tongue.

"She wants you to put him in his cradle. It's behind you…" Wu Fei translated.

"Ah…ok…will you please tell her she's lucky to have such a good child?" Relena asked while standing up carefully.

Wu Fei translated it and the mother smiled and said a word that Relena understood as 'thank you'.

"If I have to live here, I better learn some of the language as well…I hate not understanding what's going on…" Relena said sitting back next to Sally after having put the baby inside his cradle.

Sally blushed deeply and said:

"Oh…I've just realised…we've been so rude today…I shouldn't have spoken in Chinese…".

"Don't worry, it's not your fault…it's mine…I seriously need to learn some languages other the the very little French I know. It's a common thing between us Britons, we all think everyone will speak English for us…that's why we never learn another language…" Relena explained trying to make Sally feel better.

"In fact I should apologise to you…I've been acting like a spoilt little brat lately…is just that I was so angry…" Relena added.

"Why was that? Aren't you happy to marry Monsieur Barton?" said Sally.

"I don't know…I guess I should be…is just that, it's so soon…when my father died two months ago and Milliardo asked me to come here, I just thought that I would stay in Burma for quite a long time…I wasn't expecting that my brother would have found me a husband so quickly…" Relena explained to Sally.

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that…if it helps, Hanoi is a beautiful place and…I think the governor is trying to set up a project to build the railway to connect Rangoon to the French Indochina so, if you want to see your brother you may be able to visit him quite often…" Sally said smiling.

"That's good…I'll be better than travelling with the carriage and a lot safer as well…" said Relena.

After finishing their meal, they all went to bed. The couple slept in a makeshift bed placed on the living room's floor. Wu Fei and Heero went to sleep outside.

The morning after, they left a bit before dusk. It was safer to travel at that time of the morning, Wu Fei said. Relena insisted on leaving some money to the couple and she gave to the baby boy one of the tennis balls she had with her.

Relena caught Heero staring at her again. This time he was looking at her with an amused look in his eyes. As soon as he felt observed, his expression went blank once more.

The four next days were event-free. They basically followed the same schedule every day: departure early in the morning, brief stop half way through to freshen up and eat something, then in the evening they stopped in the nearest village and slept. Sally had explained to her that she had met her husband while she was working as a doctor for a catholic mission near the Burmese border with China. They had married soon afterwards and had moved to Rangoon where she had met Lucrezia during a charity dinner, three weeks after the wedding, her husband got sick with malaria and died. This was probably why Sally insisted on making Relena drink so much tonic water.

The fifth day did not look too different from the previous ones. The only thing was that Wu Fei and Heero were very tense. They were travelling through the jungle of a territory that did not belong to neither the French nor the British. They had just crossed the Mekong river when Sally had to stop the carriage so suddenly that Relena almost fell from it.

Looking ahead, she saw a group of six local men. Wu Fei said something in their tongue. They replied. It seemed as though as everything was alright when one of the men saw Relena. He said something to Wu Fei. The Chinese man looked back, first to Relena and then to Sally. Then turned his attention to the local man and said something else.

Whatever it was, he did not appreciate it. Sally made the horse that pulled the carriage move forward while Heero reached them with his horse. He placed himself next to where Relena was.

Then, something absurd happened. One of the men took a pistol from his belt and tried to shoot at Relena. Heero, not thinking twice, grabbed Relena and lifted her to his horse. Unfortunately, Relena was not prepared for this sudden move and made Heero lose his balance resulting in both of them falling from the horse. She would have hit the ground pretty heavily had it not been because Heero had embraced her and protected her with his own body.

Heero rolled with her to under some bushes while Wu Fei jumping off the horse shouted at Sally to get out of the way and went to fight with the men.

Heero had ended up on the top of Relena and was pressing her to the ground. His face was only a couple of inches away from her own and his left hand was holding her head to protect it from the ground, Relena, having her chest pressed by his, started to feel faint, due to the lack of oxygen, she tried to convince herself.

"Are you ok?" Heero asked astonishing Relena so much she only managed to nod.

Then Heero got up and went to help Wu Fei leaving her laying down.

"Oh, are you alright?" Said Sally as soon as the whole thing ended.

"I think so…I only have a couple of bruises…I feel so stupid though…I made Heero fall and I think he's hurt himself…" Relena said nervously.

"I wouldn't worry about it. He's stronger than he looks…come on…" Sally said helping her up.

Relena took a look around herself and saw that the six men were now lying unconscious on the floor. The carriage had a pretty big hole produced by the bullet. Then Relena remembered that they had tried to kill her and started shivering so violently that Sally had to hold her in her arms.

"Sush…it's over now…don't worry darling…we're going to be alright…" Sally said trying to soothe her.

"Is she alright?" Relena heard Wu Fei ask.

"Yes…she's a bit shaken, that's all…" replied Sally helping her up the carriage.

That same night they crossed the border to the province of Tonkin the capital of which was Hanoi.

Wu Fei and Heero felt relieved that they had gone through that territory and Wu Fei had started to have his chats with Sally again.

While they were having dinner in the house of an old woman that apparently lived alone, Relena sat next to Heero.

"I never thanked you for saving my life…" the girl said hoping that, this time, she would get a reply.

"It's my job" Heero replied.

"Well, you did it well and I thank you for it…" she added. Then, not getting any further remark from him, she added:

"Why did they want to kill me?".

"Because you're white…" he replied leaving Relena so horrified that she almost forgot to ask him why he had pretended not to speak English.

"Why didn't you say you speak English?".

"You didn't ask" he replied and, as if he considered the conversation over, he took his blanket and went to sleep outside.

Wu Fei said something in Chinese to Sally and followed Heero outside.

Sally turned around and said to Relena:

"Wu Fei says that tomorrow night we will arrive to Hanoi and so we should get some rest…".

END OF CHAPTER FOUR


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Everything was quiet inside the house. Only the occasional snores from the owner of the house broke the absolute silence that reigned in the house. Relena had been turning on her bed without being able to sleep.

She didn't want to think about what was troubling her. Unfortunately, her brain refused to shut down. Funnily enough, the fact that she had been attacked and that someone had wanted to kill her just for being white, was what bothered her the least.

Getting up slowly and trying to make as little noise as possible, she decided to go out and take a walk.

On her way out, she saw Wu Fei and Heero sleeping. The Chinese man was laying inside the carriage and Heero was sitting against a wall with a blanket half covering him.

Relena didn't know what possessed her but she felt compelled to pull the blanket up so it would cover him better.

She started walking till she found a small pond. It wasn't too dark because the moon was nearly full. She sat down on a rock and, folding her skirts carefully, she hugged her knees pulling them to her chest.

She still remembered Heero's body pressing on it. In fact, she couldn't stop thinking of what had happened just a few hours before. That had been the first time she had had a man as close as that and, the scary bit is that she had actually liked it. She had felt so feminine and…

'Stop! You're marrying Monsieur Barton…!!' she told herself off mentally.

That was what was bothering her the most. She had been trying to convince herself that it was the best for everybody but, specially after today, the small voice that kept telling her that she was not, had become more insistent and now was almost a scream.

Relena remembered Sally's comment about the children. She would have to carry Monsieur Barton's children, which meant…

Relena shivered at the thought. How could she go through that? She couldn't, she just couldn't do it…She started a silent weep.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She almost jumped out of sheer fear. Turning around she saw a pair of deep blue eyes staring at her.

"It's not safe here…" Heero said.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't sleep…I'm…" Relena said but then, something inside her gave up and she started to cry in an almost hysterical manner.

Heero took her in his arms and hugged her. For some reason that instinctive gesture from him, made Relena even more upset.

"Why are you crying?" she heard him asking.

"I'm scared…" Relena replied.

"Why?" Heero insisted.

"I…I'm not sure…" said Relena pulling from him slightly, only enough so she could look up at him.

"Then if you don't have a reason, you shouldn't cry…" he said.

"I have a reason…I have taken a decision and I'm not sure anymore about it…" Relena said not wanting to go into details.

"Somebody very wise told me once to live my life following my emotions…" Heero said. That was easily the longest sentence she had heard from him.

Then Heero, touched her cheek with his hand wiping her tears from it. Relena shivered because of the touch. Heero misunderstood it and said:

"You better go inside, you're getting cold…", with this, he broke the embrace and started walking towards the house. Relena started following him.

The next morning, as usual, they started their way to Hanoi. Relena looked at Heero but he was just as cold to her as every day. She was wondering where the Heero from the night before was.

As predicted by Wu Fei, a few hours after their regular stop for lunch, they arrived to Hanoi.

It was a crazy city with everybody speaking either French or the native tongue. Relena was glad she had taken all those French lessons so, for the first time during the entire trip, she understood what was going on around her plus she could translate everything to Sally who didn't speak French.

Monsieur Barton's plantation was very close to the city so they made it there just before dinnertime, Relena was about to get off the carriage when Monsieur Barton arrived followed by a red haired woman.

"Oh Mademoiselle Relena…je suis très heureux ! Please meet my sister, Catherine. She's been looking forward meeting you…" Monsieur Barton said shocking Relena again. How could he speak so much in front of people but be so quiet with her?

In any case, Relena accepted his hand and got off the carriage, he then helped Sally as well. Well, you couldn't say that Monsieur Barton wasn't the perfect gentleman.

"How do you do Mademoiselle Barton?" Relena said to Catherine, then, turning her attention to the red haired woman' brother, added trying to sound very enthusiastic but failing miserably, "I'm happy to be here as well, Monsieur Barton…".

"Oh, I asked you to call me Trowa…we're to be married soon…" Trowa said all the sudden almost making Relena wince.

"Ah but I see you've received my present…do you like it?" he added while walking up the stairs holding her hand quite possessively.

"Yes, I do. Thank you" she replied looking at her left hand. Then, remembering Heero and Wu Fei, Relena asked, "Monsieur Barton…pardon, Trowa, aren't we forgetting something, or rather, someone?".

Trowa gave her a puzzled look but, realising who Relena was talking about, he let go of her hand and said, speaking to the two men that had brought her there:

"I'm sorry…I forgot about you…you can't blame me with such a beautiful fiancée, can you? But please come in…you're welcome to stay for the night…" .

"No, thank you. We've got alternative accommodation in the city…" Wu Fei replied.

"Ah…then, I will see you tomorrow so we can sort things out…I don't like talking about money in front of the ladies…" Trowa added and, considering the conversation over, turned his attention back to Relena.

The girl, took a good look to the two guides, specially at one of them. Sally caught that look and made a mental note to talk to Relena about it.

The four women and Trowa went inside the house and, after freshening up a bit, Relena and Sally were taken to the dinning room. There they found two more people.

"Relena chéri, meet my best friend Monsieur Quatre Winner and his lovely wife Dorothy…they're here to welcome you…" Trowa said introducing the couple to him.

"How do you do Miss Relena…" the man said in perfect English. He had blond hair and blue eyes.

"Oh…don't be so conventional Quatre dear…Hello my darling, I'm so happy Trowa has finally decided to tie the knot…did you have a safe trip?" Dorothy asked getting up from her chaise longue showing the magnificent length of her platinum blond hair.

"Well, yes and no…we got attacked near the Mekong river but our guides were very effective…in fact we've made it here in one piece…" said Relena trying to minimize the whole affair.

"What? I cannot believe it! You're alright, aren't you?" Trowa sounded almost alarmed. Sally tried to hide a smile but it disappeared when Trowa said:

"I'm telling you Quatre… we need to conquer that territory soon…I'm so fed up to hear about attacks on white people there…" Trowa said almost losing his normally neutral tone of voice.

"I know Trowa I know…is just that, we've just got hold here in Tonkin, let's not rush too much…We could, for once, enjoy some peace, couldn't we?" Quatre said.

"I guess you're right…" Trowa said. It seemed as though as he was going to add something else but he did not get the chance…the servants came in with their dinner.

After dinner, Catherine, Dorothy, Sally and Relena stayed there in the dinning room chatting while Quatre and Trowa went to smoke.

Dorothy was Scottish but her father had been in the army and had been sent to Saudi Arabia. Dorothy had met Quatre there and, during the many trips the couple had done, she had fallen in love with Indochina and, Quatre, a man that apparently would do anything for his wife, had given up part of his business, and leaving his homeland, had bought a plantation near the Barton's, that had been before Trowa's grandfather had died so Trowa had helped Quatre settling down and learning about how to administrate a plantation. They had helped each other during the difficult times of the war. Relena was shocked to hear that Trowa had been called to fight for France and he had just come back from the last conflict.

Relena sensed that the subject was a bit touchy for Catherine so she started talking about the weather so they would direct their attention somewhere else.

The following three days, Catherine and, whenever he could, Trowa, showed Sally and Relena around. Relena found out that most days Quatre and Trowa would go together to check on their plantations so Dorothy came every time that it happened.

Dorothy was a very interesting woman. She had the most strange ideas regarding the facts of life, specially regarding politics. According to her, what either France or Britain should do was to conquer the entire South East of Asia, this way, she said, it would prevent any more problems.

She seemed to have a keen interest in battles and she was very upset that women could not take part in these conflicts other than assisting as nurses. Sally was totally scandalised and so was Relena.

Catherine just said nothing at all. It seemed that Trowa's sister was used to Dorothy's extravagant behaviour.

One night, when everybody was sleeping, Relena woke up thirsty. She tried calling the maid but no one came so she decided to go herself to the kitchens.

She got up and put her dressing gown on. For some reason, wandering around in the dark, reminded her of the last night she had seen Heero. She missed him a lot more than she was prepared to admit.

'Stop it Relena! You're engaged now…!' she told herself off. She had to stop thinking of Heero, Trowa would be very upset if he ever found out so she made a point of removing Heero from her memory before her wedding day.

Walking towards the kitchen meant that you had to go through the dinning room. She was about to open the door when she heard some strange noises.

At first, an innocent girl like Relena did not recognise them so she opened slightly the sliding door. Through the small gap, Relena saw something that made her feel sick.

On the table where they all had their meals, a blond girl was laying naked near the edge of the table with her legs spread and a man between them. Even being as naïve as she was, Relena realised that those two were obviously having sex but, as if that wasn't enough to shock her, Relena saw that the man having sex was no other than her own fiancé, Trowa Barton.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

A/N: Fans of Trowa Barton, please don't flame me for making him such a bastard. Everything will have a reasonable explanation, just hold on and be patient!


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Her heart was beating so loudly while she ran away that she could not hear anything else. She felt sick, and she thought that she would suffocate unless she got some fresh air soon.

That was probably why she found herself in the house's big terrace. It was very dark outside, there were some clouds covering the moon that threatened rain.

Relena, fearing to be seen, hid herself in one corner and, pressing her back against the wall, let her body slide down till she sat on the ground and she started crying sobbing violently.

She just couldn't believe it. She had never cried that easily before. Not when her brother had left or when her dog had died. Not even when her own father, the person she had grown up with had died, she had cried that much.

In the last few days she had cried more than she had ever cried during her entire life. And, deep down, she knew the reason.

Relena had a theory regarding happiness, the less one knew, the easier one could be really happy. If you didn't know what you were missing, you could hardly be unhappy for not having it.

The problem was that she knew what true love was. She had read about it, she had seen it first hand. Duo and Hilde loved each other for real, it was something so obvious that you could even touch it.

Relena felt very jealous of her best friend, she had been able to choose freely and, even though Lucrezia had tried to convince her that leaving this choice to your loved ones made it easier and safer, seeing Hilde's love story made her believe that Lucrezia was wrong.

She was still crying and still thinking when she heard a female voice. At first she did not recognise it but, hearing that strong French accent, she knew that the voice belonged to Trowa's sister Catherine.

"Relena, where are you?".

Relena got up quickly trying to dry her tears and was grateful that it was dark. She tried to get rid of the knot that was tying her throat when Catherine said:

"I know what's making you so upset…".

"Really? How do you know?" Relena asked with her voice still trembling.

"I've seen you running, I got up because I couldn't sleep and I went to see what had made you run…Relena, you must know some things…I don't want you to think badly of my brother…" Catherine said, then added "But not here…let's go to my private sitting room…I'll explain it to you there…".

Relena had little option but to follow her. She was extremely embarrassed that Catherine had seen what she had seen and felt very confused that still wanted to talk about it. They arrived to Catherine's small sitting room, it was attached to her bedroom by one door. She sat down on a red couch and asked Relena to join her.

"Relena, you're probably thinking of breaking up the engagement…but you must know how things are before you take a decision…are you prepared to listen?".

"I guess so…" Relena replied being sure that no matter what Catherine said, she would not change her mind.

"Well, to help you understand my brother, I will tell you that Trowa has had a very tough upbringing. Our father defied our grandfather when he married our mother. She was not what our grandfather considered a 'well brought up' girl. She had been born to an unmarried woman so she didn't have a surname. Our father didn't care about this and married her anyway because he loved her. Our grandfather was furious so he left France to come to this land. He bought this property and dealt with all the natives in his own way. Then our parents died, we were very young so our grandfather decided to take care of us. Unfortunately, Trowa looks so very much like our mum so our grandfather was a lot harsher with him than he was with me. He wanted to make out of him a true French gentleman…the gentleman that our grandfather didn't think our father was".

Catherine interrupted herself briefly to see if Relena was following her, seeing that she had the blond girl's full attention, she continued:

"The girl you've seen him with is Midii Une, she's a really nice girl but, unfortunately, she's a common girl with no credentials to introduce her to society…Her mum used to work here taking care of our grandfather and it was only a matter of time till Trowa and Midii met each other and fell in love…When our grandfather found out about it, he was outraged about it and asked Trowa to terminate that 'sinful relationship' at once…he accused him to be just like his father…there was a huge row and, that same night, our grandfather started feeling ill...before dying he made Trowa promise he would marry a well brought up girl…someone with a surname…and, that is what you are…".

"But, how can he marry me if he loves Midii so much?" Relena asked beginning to feel sorry for Trowa.

"Well, Trowa feels guilty for our grandfather's death and he knows how to put duty before his own happiness…what you've seen won't be happening after the wedding…be sure of that…my brother is a man with honour…he will be faithful to his wife, whether he gets to choose her or not…as you can see, you're not the only one making sacrifices…" said Catherine feeling very sure of what she was saying.

After a chat, Catherine accompanied Relena to her room and, before bidding her goodnight, she said:

"My brother will know how to make you happy…I hope you know how to make him happy too…"

"I hope so too…" Relena replied not really feeling any better.

Getting in bed, she spent the entire night thinking of what Trowa's sister had revealed to her and, for the first time, Relena started thinking that she was not the only victim in this whole affair. Probably Trowa was giving up a lot more than she was…

The morning after, Relena was to go with Sally and Catherine to buy some cloth to make the wedding dress. Unfortunately, Catherine couldn't come because she had some problems with the organisation of the party that would take place right after the wedding.

So, Sally and Relena boarded the small carriage that Trowa had left at their service. Sally was disappointed because she was not allowed to drive it, that woman was just amazing, Relena thought thinking of how independent Sally seemed to be.

The two women had been walking around Hanoi, amusing themselves with the busy streets, the fruit market and the shops that seemed to be able to sell you anything you asked for.

Sally was busy looking around the market while Relena was distracted watching two ballerinas performing some exotic dance. Feeling unsafe, she decided to turn around to find Sally, when she crashed against someone making her lose her balance. She was about to fall when she felt two strong arms grabbing her preventing her from hitting the ground.

The blond girl looked up to see who had saved her from making a fool of herself.

"Heero!" she exclaimed sounding a bit more eager than she thought decent.

Heero replied with a nod and that made her realise that he wasn't alone.

"Hello Wu Fei!" Relena said seeing the Chinese man.

"There you are!" said Sally joining Relena, then, realising that Wu Fei was there, using a very sweet tone of voice, she said "Hello Wu Fei…how are you?".

"I'm fine, how about you, I hope you still remember about that book I wanted to show you…" Wu Fei said ridiculously embarrassed. Relena found rather odd that he would get embarrassed about a book, then, for some strange reason, Sally also blushed slightly and replied:

"Of course…I would like to see that book very much…".

Relena wasn't understanding anything and, Heero, seeing that, said:

"Let's go…".

"What?" Relena replied rather rudely.

"I said, let's go…I'll explain later…" Heero said mysteriously grabbing her hand.

"But…Sally…I can't leave her alone…or rather, she's not supposed to leave ME alone…" Relena said while being dragged to goodness knew where.

Heero didn't bother to reply. He just kept walking a bit too fast for Relena to be able to follow him so, after a while, Relena stopped and said:

"Excuse me but, I cannot possibly follow that pace of yours…you either slow down or explain to me where you're taking me to and why…".

Relena was more confused than angry but she had to show that she was not happy with this situation.

"You're so naïve…" Heero commented only helping Relena's anger to build up. Then, taking a quick look around and seeing that there was nobody close enough to hear her, she said:

"Well, please forgive me for being so innocent but, I will never be as wise as you people think you are unless someone starts explaining to me what's going on…I'm tired of being the last one to find out, I'm tired of having to discover things the worst possible way and I am specially tired of people like you that think that because they have more experience than I do can patronise me like you do…and now, you are going to either tell me what is going on here or I demand that you take me back to where Sally is so I can go back to choose some fabric for my wedding dress!".

Suddenly, something very weird happened. Heero, the cold, stone faced Heero, laughed out loud. It was a sincere, amused laugh.

"If you must know, Wu Fei wants to ask Sally to be his wife…" Heero replied making Relena's jaw drop open.

"What? But…I…" Relena started saying stuttering.

"That's why I wanted to give them some space…" Heero said interrupting her.

Relena had never felt so stupid in all her life. She just didn't know what to say but, thinking of Sally and Wu Fei together, suddenly it made perfect sense that they would marry.

"I'll show you around the city…" Heero said and, not waiting for an answer, he just started walking.

When Sally and Relena had been on the carriage on their way back to the house after finishing their shopping, she noticed the huge grin that the older woman had on her face.

"I guess you said yes?" Relena asked suddenly.

"Yep…We're going to marry after you do…we don't want to spoil the big event…" Sally said and this comment regarding her wedding made Relena lose her smile.

"Relena, I've meaning to ask you…what do you think of Heero?" Sally asked ignoring all etiquette.

"I…I don't know what you mean…" Relena said hoping that Sally couldn't see her deeply blushed face.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about…I've seen the way you look at him…" Sally insisted.

"Ah…don't be ridiculous…I'm engaged to be married, remember?" Relena said trying to sound determined.

"I know that…I just hope you do remember it as well…" Sally said leaving Relena feeling incredibly guilty.

'Ah…I haven't done anything wrong…I've only taken an innocent walk around the city with him…that is a lot less than what my fiancé was doing last night anyway…" Relena thought knowing that, the walk she had taken with Heero was not so innocent, at least not for her anyway, and that she was being unbelievably unfair with Trowa.

With this confused thoughts still dancing inside her head, they got back to the Barton residence seeing a very familiar carriage parked just outside. Her brother and Lucrezia had finally arrived.

The countdown for her wedding day had began.

END OF CHAPTER SIX

A/N: See? I told you there was a good reason that justified Trowa's behaviour, didn't I? Ah…I hope you're enjoying this because I'm having a lot of fun writing it!


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

The night of Lucrezia and Milliardo's arrival, Relena found out that Catherine had been organising a surprise for her. It had occurred to her that Trowa and Relena had not announced their engagement publicly so she had decided to throw an engagement party.

She decided to invite everyone that would be coming to the wedding as well since most of them were already in Hanoi. She warned everyone that the party would be taking place the following night. Lucrezia and Dorothy, that was there in one of her frequent visits, were delighted. Sally was observing Relena's expression. Although it was trying to appear as cheerful as possible, she could tell that the younger woman was having more trouble accepting the whole thing than she was prepared to admit.

Everyone decided to go to bed just before nine pm. They wanted to be well rested for the party. Relena was heading to her bedroom when she heard Trowa's voice calling her.

"Is something the matter?" she asked turning around.

"No…I just wanted to talk to you a little bit…, would you mind joining me for a drink?" Trowa asked.

Relena wanted badly to refuse. She had managed so far not to be left alone with him, she was afraid that he would ask her too many questions. Question she didn't have the answers for.

In any case, he was to be her husband so, she could hardly refuse.

"Of course…it'll be a pleasure…" Relena was forced to reply.

She followed him to the terrace where Catherine had found her the previous night. Trowa asked a servant to bring them some iced lemonade and a lamp. Soon they were left alone, the oil lamp creating an atmosphere that, Relena could almost define as romantic.

"Relena…I know you don't love me now…" he started saying.

"Trowa I…" Relena said interrupting him.

"No…please let me finish…I want to be honest with you…I don't love you either. As you probably know, I've been forced into this marriage as much as you…the difference is that, I am actually hoping that this marriage will work…so, I would like to ask you if you would be prepared to work for it as hard as I will…" Trowa with such honesty that Relena felt compelled to do something that she herself found unbelievable.

She got up from her chair and knelt next to Trowa's not caring about her new light blue dress. She took both his hands with hers and, looking at him in the eye, said:

"Trowa, I know that you're giving things up you wish you weren't…I …I mean, we will make this work…we have to…it's the only chance we're given…".

"What do you mean?" Trowa said almost whispering.

"Well, I've given up all romantic notions regarding marriage but one. I only want to get married once in my life…" Relena said with a conviction she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Thank you Relena…" Trowa said. Then Relena realised that, from her position she could take a very close look at him. Lucrezia was right, Trowa was a really handsome man…almost as handsome as…'NO! STOP THINKING OF HIM!' Relena shouted at herself mentally.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realise she was still kneeling next to Trowa and still had his hands pressed between hers. Especially, she did not notice that Trowa was lowering his head towards hers and was about to kiss her. He would have had it not been because he said:

"You are beautiful…I'm lucky…".

Relena woke up like if it had been a dream and got up so abruptly that she startled Trowa in the process.

"Oh…je suis vraiment désolé…I thought that you wanted a kiss…" Trowa said getting up as well.

Relena stood there not knowing what to say nor do. She felt like in these kind of situations where one knows that, no matter what it's said or done, there is no way to get out of it painlessly.

"I…I'm tired…I should go to bed…" Relena said knowing that she had sounded as stupid as she felt.

"Of course…" said Trowa feeling pretty embarrassed.

Relena had to make an effort not to run back to her room. She collapsed on her bed as soon as she had got there. How was she going to honour her promise to make this marriage work, she still had to figure it out. But she would. No matter how much she would have to endure. With this determination, Relena fell asleep.

The party was as enjoyable as Catherine had hoped. Even Relena managed to have fun. Right now, she was dancing with her brother. It was kind of difficult because her brother was a lot taller than she was and they kept missing steps. At first she had been tense but, hearing his laughter, made her relax herself and laugh as well.

She was taking a break when she saw Sally's face brighten up. She had been quite down for the entire evening and had refused to say why not even to Lucrezia. Now Relena understood why.

Soon Sally was dancing with Wu Fei and Relena was commenting with Lucrezia the recent news about the couple's engagement when she heard a very familiar monotone next to her.

"Do you want to dance?".

Relena turned to face the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Not being able to speak, she accepted with a light nod.

As soon as they started dancing, Relena realised that he was not used to it. Probably because he didn't get to do it very often. Honestly speaking, Heero did look a bit out of place against la crème de la crème of French Indochina's high society.

"Let's go outside…" the words came out her mouth without her permission.

"Why?" Heero asked.

"I need some fresh air…" Relena replied knowing that there was no way back so, a few seconds later, she found herself sitting on a stone bench by the small lake that the house's garden had.

"Do you love him?" Heero asked suddenly surprising Relena.

"What?" she said almost scandalised.

"You heard me, do you love him?" Heero insisted.

"I don't have to answer this question to you…" Relena said getting up from the bench only to find herself towered by Heero's height.

"Then I take it that this is another of those high society weddings where feelings are an optional…" Heero said with an almost insulting tone.

"That is none of your business…" Relena started to say.

"As a matter of fact it is…" Heero said and then, suddenly, passed one of his hands around Relena's waist and pulling her close to him, kissed her on her lips almost violently.

Relena felt that she could have easily pulled away from that kiss but, something prevented her from doing it. The kiss started deepening and Relena thought she was about to faint when she heard a voice calling her. It was Milliardo's. At once, Heero let go of her.

Relena looked at him briefly before running away to her brother, leaving him standing by the bench. That was the last she saw of him for that night.

The blond girl felt like crying but she knew that, of all moments, that probably was the worst. In fact, they were about to announce her engagement to Trowa so, just seconds before she reached her brother, she put her best smile on and, seeing her brother, said:

"I'm sorry, I felt a bit hot and I went to get some fresh air…".

While she spoke, she felt her lips still tingling so, unconsciously, brought a hand up to her mouth and touched them.

That night, she never got to sleep. If before was not confused enough, now her mind was just sheer chaos. It was only the beginning for, after that night, many more sleepless nights would come.

Going through the final week before her wedding was a living nightmare. The dress had been finished, although the dressmaker complained that she had to take in a couple of centimetres and said to Lucrezia to order Relena to eat more or else she would faint in her own wedding.

She didn't say anything because she knew that during the past weeks her normally healthy appetite had almost disappeared.

Although she had tried to avoid seeing Heero, she seemed to find him everywhere. She couldn't understand the panic she felt when she saw him but, nonetheless she had managed to get away from him each time.

The truth was that she was terrified. She had tried to give a name to what she had felt when he had kissed her. It had been her very first kiss and…she had felt more alive than never before in her whole life. That scared the heck out of her.

She had not pulled away from him. She could have but she had stayed there in his arms. She remembered when Trowa had tried to kiss her. She had almost jumped two metres vertically and had literally ran away from him.

If she wanted to make it to her wedding sane, she had to stay away from Heero as much as possible. She just hoped she would have the strength to do it.

Of course, with Lucrezia, Sally, Dorothy and Catherine so excited about the whole thing, it was difficult to have a minute to think about it and Relena asked God to bless the four girls for that.

The night before the wedding, Relena told everybody she wanted to have an early night and everyone understood.

Lucrezia followed her to her room and gave her a sisterly speech about wedding nights.

"Darling, you shouldn't be afraid…it will hurt only a little bit and if you relax you'll be fine…you will even enjoy it after a while…".

Relena couldn't believe that Lucrezia was talking about sex with her. In any case, she paid attention to what her sister in law was saying, half because she didn't want her to notice anything odd, half because she was genuinely afraid of what was going to happen the following night.

"Don't worry…you'll be very happy…you'll see" Lucrezia said and, giving her a motherly hug, the short haired girl left Relena alone in her room.

Putting her nightgown on, Relena forced herself to sleep and, oddly, she managed to do so pretty quickly. Probably out of sheer exhaustion.

A few hours later, everyone in the house was sleeping, well, not everyone. A silent figure snuck in Relena's bedroom.

Sitting on the girl's bed, with a hand, started shaking Relena lighly. Just enough so she would wake up.

"Heero…" Relena mumbled on her way to consciousness.

"I don't know who Heero is but…I want to talk to you…" an irritated voice with a distinctive French accent said making Relena wake up instantly.

"How did you…" Relena started asking till the person sitting by her side illuminated herself with the faint light of a candle.

Relena's heart skipped a beat. That was…

"My mother used to work here, I have a copy of the house's master key…" replied the girl standing up like if being near Relena disgusted her too much.

"You're Midii Une…aren't you?" asked Relena just to get confirmation of what she already knew.

"I'm surprised you know about me…then you probably know what I am…to Trowa…know this, you may be marrying him and, by law, he will be yours from tomorrow to the day you die…but, you will never own his heart. It belongs to me just like mine will belong to him…forever. He has told me tonight, as I was leaving his bed, that it was the last time we could see each other…he has explained to me the reasons why he's marrying you…and I understand him…I've always have…I am giving him up without a fight because I respect and love him too much not to do what he's begging me to do…but, that does not change the fact that I love him and I will love him forever…I wanted you to know this and…I wanted to tell you that…if you ever make him unhappy or he suffers because of you, I hope you burn in hell…".

Having said this, she left the room leaving Relena feeling awfully ill.

She had found the words she had been looking for.

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN

A/N: mdj has made me notice that the moment where Heero kisses Relena in this chapter was almost identical to the Titanic scene where Jack speaks to Rose. I would like to say that I did not have that scene in mind when I wrote it but, just in case some malicious minds think I had, I have decided to change the words quite significantly. I really would hate if people thought I was quoting things directly from other fics/films when I'm not. I also would like to thank 'mdj' for pointing it out to me and I hope she or he finds this story quite different from Titanic or any other film for that matter.


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews! I'm glad you're liking this story…I was a bit afraid at the beginning because I was unsure about how to structure an AU fan fiction. I hope it won't disappoint you and you'll keep reading it till the end (and don't worry, I won't take ages to finish it…I'm only planning something like five or six more chapters…)

In any case, back to the fic…enjoy!!!

Chapter Eight

She had never been more afraid in her entire life. She knew that what she was doing was almost suicidal but, after hearing Midii's speech, she just couldn't do anything else.

It was clear that Midii loved, no, the girl worshiped Trowa. Relena had seen so much sorrow in the girl's eyes that it almost scared her.

And that's why she was there now, walking by herself, in the middle of the night, through a very dark forest, trying to find a place she'd only heard of…the truth is that she'd never been there before.

Every noise she heard made her heart skip a bit. She definitely had never been more scared in her life.

Finally, after what had seemed an awfully long time, Relena started seeing the lights of the city. The closer she was to her destination, the louder and faster her heart beat.

"Hey beauty…want some company?" asked a drunken man in French the minute she stepped on the first city's pavement.

Relena tried to ignore him but he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him and said:

"I said if you were looking for company…but you are so rude…I think I'll teach you some manners…".

She was about to scream for help when the man gave up his grip and, shocking Relena, dropped unconscious on the floor.

"What are you doing here woman?" asked a very familiar voice.

"Wu Fei! Oh…thank goodness you're here…I…I…" Relena stuttered thanking the good fate for sending Wu Fei.

"I asked you a question woman, what are you doing here?" Wu Fei insisted not allowing her to fool him.

"I…I'm looking for Heero…" Relena confessed blushing deeply.

"What do you want from him?" Wu Fei replied narrowing his eyes looking at her suspiciously.

"I need to speak to him…"Relena said knowing that, unless she did so soon, she would never gather enough courage again.

"Why? You're getting married tomorrow…" Wu Fei said with no apparent intentions of telling her where Heero was.

"Precisely, I need to speak to him tonight…" insisted Relena getting even more nervous…

"I'm not sure whether I'm doing the right thing but…I guess it can't be helped…" Wu Fei said finally starting to move.

Relena was very happy that Wu Fei had decided to cooperate. She was beginning to have a huge headache so she really didn't want to start arguing, even less with Wu Fei.

"Thank you for saving me…" Relena said suddenly remembering she had not even thanked him, while trying to keep up with the Chinese man's pace.

"It's ok…I should have taught him how to treat a lady but the bastard was too drunk...it was a pity he fainted after just a kick…weakling!" Wu Fei exclaimed making Relena smile, he seemed more upset about the missed fight than about anything else.

"In any case you were very…timely…" Relena said trying to find the right word.

Wu Fei stopped in front of a small house.

"Is it here where you're staying?" Relena asked.

"Yes…this my house…please take off your shoes before going in…" Wu Fei replied opening the door.

Relena, after removing her shoes, followed him inside a small room with bare walls and the minimum furniture necessary, a low table, four cushions, a bookcase and a Buddhist altar. In the middle of the room, she saw Heero sitting on the tatami covered floor reading a book.

"Relena? What are you doing here?" Heero said with a shocked look in his eyes.

Relena was amazed seeing the brief flash of emotion in the normally ice cold eyes.

"I needed to talk to you…" Relena replied feeling suddenly very tired.

"I'll leave you two alone but, Heero, you better tell the woman that it is not very advisable to go out by herself at this time of the night…" Wu Fei said going to a room next door.

Heero just stood there without saying a word. Relena looked at him and, taking some air, was about to say something when Heero preceded her:

"Are you crazy? Coming here by yourself? Do you want to get killed or what?".

Relena was scared, she didn't want him to be mad at her but, again, she knew that what she had done was very wrong so, she choose to just lower her eyes to the floor and accept her responsibilities without arguing.

"I…I came here to ask you one thing…" Relena started timidly.

"What is it?" Heero asked. 'Well, at least he was curious to know, so that, in theory, would make things easier…', Relena thought.

"Why did you kiss me?" Relena asked with a very small voice causing Heero's jaw to almost drop but, in half a second, Heero regained all his self-control and said:

"Do you really need to ask?".

"Well, I have an slight idea…but, I rather hear your own voice saying it…" Relena said getting very annoyed that the headache would not go away.

"Because I'm in love with you…", Heero replied blatantly. Relena couldn't believe that he could say those words with no emotion whatsoever.

"Then, you will have to help me escape…" Relena said making Heero think that the girl had gone completely mad.

"What? What about the wedding?" Heero asked surprised.

"I can't marry him…I just can't…." Relena said on the verge of crying.

"Why not?" asked Heero his voice indicating that he was a lot closer to her now.

"For the same reason why you kissed me…" Relena said looking down pretending that the edge of her light green dress was the most interesting thing on the planet.

She felt a finger under her chin lifting her face. Then, Heero's soft lips touched hers and she found herself being held in his arms while he moved his lips over hers.

This time, she actually had to stop or else she would have fainted for real.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked looking at her full of concern.

"I…we need to leave…I don't want to be around here tomorrow…" Relena said.

"Are you sure? I don't have any ties here but…are you going to leave your family and your surname behind? What is a girl like you going to do?" Heero asked her trying to get her to be sensible.

"I've never been more sure in my life. I need to leave and I would like you to come with me….I will manage without my family…in fact, from the two people I considered my family, one is dead and the other is in America with her new husband…" Relena said resolutely and then she added, "and that is precisely where I would like to go…my best friend is a school teacher and I used to be her assistant…I could do that for a living…".

"To America? Why there?" Heero asked curiously.

"Because it's a new country and it offers everybody the chance to have a fresh new start…they don't consider your previous social position there…if you're good at what you do, you'll be successful…besides, it's the only place where I have someone…" Relena said with a mixed feelings.

"What about your brother?" Heero asked insistently.

"Well…he's lived without me for ten years…I don't think I'm going to be such a loss to him…" Relena replied sounding sure of what she was saying, then she added, "Why do I feel like you're just trying to find excuses?" .

"That's not true…the point is, if I'm going to take you to America, I want to be sure you know what you're leaving behind…and that you won't regret it later…" Heero commented telling her the plain truth.

"Alright then, you don't have to worry, besides, I even have some money that should help us to get there and start a new life there…Heero, please, take me to America, please?" Relena pleaded hoping she had convinced him.

"Yeah…why not…" Heero replied trying not to show how that the idea didn't seem that bad after all.

An hour later, and after having said goodbye to a very worried Wu Fei, Heero and Relena started riding to the Haiphong port. Heero had arrived to that port from his hometown of Nagasaki and he knew some decent people there that would help them to get to America.

Heero felt Relena's head pressing against his back and he smiled very slightly enjoying the closeness.

Relena didn't speak much during the three hours they had been riding. She was happy to hear Heero telling her that they were almost there, in fact, she was beginning to feel like her head would explode any minute now because of the horse's trotting, she was all sore and she was getting cold. Trying to get warmer, she pressed herself against Heero's back even more and, with one hand, tried to wrap her white silk shawl around her shoulders tightly. The blond girl thought that it was probably the dawn's moisture that had caused the temperature to drop dramatically.

"How can you be cold? It's very hot, even though is still night time…" Heero commented feeling Relena's shivers.

"I'm cold…I don't know why…" Relena said starting to feel a very unpleasant nausea.

Heero, hearing this, stopped the horse. The halt was so brusque that Relena thought that she would have probably fallen had it not been because Heero grabbed the two arms that the girl had wrapped around his waist.

Then he felt it. The heat. Relena was boiling hot. Heero did not hesitate for one minute and, carefully, tried to get off the horse while keeping her on it.

Heero looked around himself, they were in the middle of nowhere. Then he helped Relena get off the horse, trying to steady her by keeping her close to him.

As soon as he had done that, Relena pushed him away and ran to the side of the road. She started vomiting.

"I'm sorry…I don't know what's wrong with me…I'm so tired and…the head's killing me…" Relena said coming back and covering her mouth with her handkerchief. It was clear that she was feeling very poorly.

Heero made her sit down on the ground. Taking the small blanket from the horse's belt, tried to cover her as much as he could. Relena was sweating and she kept shivering although she was really hot.

Then Heero realised something that terrified him. Yes, she had all the symptoms: shivers, sweat, tiredness, headache, vomit and fever. He looked at her arms and then around her neck. He found what he was looking for. A mosquito bite. Unless Relena got some medicine soon, the malaria could end up killing her. Heero tried to get her up to put her back on the horse when he realised that she had passed out.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Milliardo and his wife were sitting with Trowa, Catherine and Sally. They were waiting for Relena to start having breakfast but not seeing her coming, Catherine said:

"I'll go and get her…maybe she's still sleeping…".

"Ok, you'll do that…we better start having breakfast…" replied Trowa. The servants, following a sign from their master, started pouring the tea and serving the food.

A few minutes later, Catherine came running in the breakfast room. She looked very distressed and was holding an envelope.

"Elle a disparu!!" said clearly out of breath.

"Quoi? Que dis-tu?" exclaimed Trowa getting up from the table.

"Elle a disparu ! Elle est allée mais a laissé cette note pour toi… " Catherine said giving the envelope she had in her hand to her brother.

"What's going on?" asked Milliardo annoyed for not being able to understand the conversation.

"Your sister is gone Monsieur Peacecraft…she's left a note for my brother…" said Catherine very upset and worried.

"What?" asked Lucrezia and Sally disbelievingly.

Trowa, opening the envelope, started reading the first words and then, without saying anything to anyone, walked out of the room.

Catherine started following him but Trowa turned round and commanded:

"Stay here…".

Catherine was left with no option so she decided to stay there with the Peacecraft's and the Chinese doctor.

Sitting on the couch in his studio, Trowa started reading Relena's letter:

_Dear Trowa,_

_I'm very sorry for doing this to you but, I can't marry you. Last night, a person you know very well, came to visit me and with her words, opened my eyes and made me see the truth. _

_The kind of love you two share is too sacred to be sacrificed for something as meaningless as politics or a promise made forcefully to someone that did not respect you for what you are. _

_I can't claim I know you but I have seen that you are a very decent, caring man with a great capacity to love and accept other people's love. _

_You also have a great sense of duty and this is what is pushing you to marry me but, what you really need to ask yourself is whether this will make us truly happy. I know it won't. _

_Up to a few days ago, I didn't know what real love was but now, for the first time, I have experienced it first hand and, although I can fully understand Midii's reasons to give you up, I cannot accept such sacrifice. I would never feel right knowing that my unlikely happiness with you had cost someone else the deepest of miseries. _

_Don't blame Midii for talking to me. She's done the two of us a huge favour. You should go to her and ask her to forgive our stupidity. Then you should marry her and try to make her happy. _

_If you're reading this and I'm not there, this means that the object of my affections returns them and I'm the happiest woman in the whole world. We will now be on our way to start our life together. _

_I really wish you the very best from life and know that I feel very lucky for having met you. _

_Please express my gratitude to Midii, I will be in debt with her forever._

_With my best regards, Relena Peacecraft_

_PS: Please give my apologies to my brother, tell him I'm not the person he thought I was and I'm deeply sorry for being a disappointment. I truly hope he and his wife will come to understand my decision._

After reading the letter a couple of times, Trowa folded it neatly in two and shoved it inside the pocket of his jacket.

He understood Relena's decision very well. How could he not? When he had asked Midii to give him up had cost him such a great deal of pain that he almost felt chocked by it. Not to speak about the pain that he had caused to her. It had almost killed him seeing the sorrow in her beautiful blue eyes.

Trowa decided to go back to the breakfast room to tell Milliardo that the wedding was to be annulled completely.

"Where's your husband Madame Peacecraft?" asked Trowa not seeing Milliardo in the room. He noticed that the woman was on the verge of crying.

"He's gone to organise a search party for Relena…" replied Sally for Lucrezia was unable to speak.

"That girl! I knew she was trouble!" said Catherine angrily.

Trowa went to her and taking his sister by her arm, made her get up.

"DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN…SHE'S A VERY BRAVE GIRL…I WISH I HAD HALF HER COURAGE!" Trowa shouted at her.

"Je suis désolée... je te prie cher frère, ne pas me te fâcher avec moi... " said Catherine really scared for she had never seen her brother so angry before.

"Then don't say stupid things…and I won't get angry…" Trowa said and then, talking to Sally, he said "Where's he heading to?".

"He's going to Hanoi to meet the British governor…" replied Sally.

Trowa, for the second time that day, stormed out the breakfast room.

Wu Fei had just finished his breakfast and was about to start his meditation. He knew that today he would need all the mental strength he could gather. Especially trying to explain to Sally why he had done nothing to prevent Heero and Relena from going.

He was settling on the floor when he heard someone coming in the house. Turning round, Wu Fei saw Heero carrying Relena in his arms.

"What's wrong with the woman?" asked Wu Fei very surprised to see Relena unconscious.

"Go and get Sally…tell her to bring some quinine with her…" replied Heero taking Relena inside the room that the Japanese man used to occupy.

"Quinine? That's for…" Wu Fei started saying.

"Malaria…I know…Wu Fei, Relena needs help soon…" said Heero feeling that his very limited patience was quickly vanishing.

"Alright then…I'll go now…" Wu Fei said leaving his house.

Heero heard Wu Fei getting on his horse and riding away, then the Japanese man went back to the room where Relena was.

Relena was still very hot so Heero decided to soak a piece of cloth with cold water to try to decrease the temperature.

"You can't leave me…not now…Relena you must fight this…" Heero said while holding her hand and pushing one blond, wet lock of hair away from the girl's beautiful face.

While Wu Fei was racing to the Barton's plantation, Milliardo and governor Khushrenada where on their way to the French governor's house. After Milliardo had informed Treize personally, the governor had sent a message to his French counterpart and they were heading there to discuss what was the best thing to do.

"I just don't know what my sister was thinking…" Milliardo said shaking his head.

"Oh my old friend…you shouldn't worry about it…she's young and she'll be easily convinced that she's made a mistake…" Treize replied patting his friend's shoulder.

"I hope she'll be alright…travelling alone…she must have gone mad!" Milliardo insisted.

"My soldiers will find her…you'll have her back to safety in no time…" Treize said determinedly.

Soon they found themselves in front of the French style mansion where the governor lived. In the front door, they saw Monsieur Barton waiting for them.

"Monsieur Peacecraft…I hoped this would be your destination…I need to speak to you…" Trowa said as soon as Milliardo had got off his horse.

"Why is that? If it's related to my sisters disappearance, you don't have to worry…she'll marry you…this is just a mere inconvenient…we will ensure she meets you at the altar…" Milliardo said resolutely.

"I'm not sure this is the best for us…" Trowa said and looked like he wanted to add something else but got interrupted by the French governor that, as every good host would, had come down to meet his unexpected guests.

"Monsieur Barton…you surely don't mean what you have just said…".

"I do governor. I had some reasons to marry Miss Peacecraft but, I don't anymore…she's free to marry whomever she chooses…" Trowa proclaimed.

"Monsieur Barton, I don't think you understand…you may have had your reasons, and those may not be valid anymore…but our main target still prevails…France and Britain need these alliances and you will cooperate…it is your duty as a French citizen and Miss Peacecraft's as a British one…" the French governor insisted.

"But…" Trowa started saying.

"No buts…Monsieur, as you know, your fiancée has gone astray. We're here to discuss how to find her and return her home nothing more, nothing less…" said the French governor going inside the house.

Wu Fei dismounted his horse and started running to the house's entrance. He knocked it and waited impatiently for a reply.

"Bonjour monsieur, comment puis-je vous aider?" asked one of the servants opening the door.

"Je dois voir Madame Sally Po" said Wu Fei and, without waiting for an answer, he went pass the poor servant that looked at him stunned.

Wu Fei could hear the servant calling after him but, the Chinese man was resolute and nothing would prevent him from seeing Sally.

He found her still in the breakfast room. The doctor and the other two ladies had been joined by Dorothy and her husband Quatre, they had come to help the hosts with their guests. Alas, Mr and Mrs Winner found that there was no need for it since the protagonist, the bride, wasn't there. Right now, Dorothy was speaking but she interrupted herself seeing the Chinese man at the door. Everyone else followed Mrs Winner's gaze and, Sally seeing her fiancé, said:

"Wu Fei! What are you doing here…it's still too soon…" Sally was unsure whether she was authorised to discuss Relena's disappearance with him.

"You must come with me now…" Wu Fei said in English. Then, in Chinese, he added something else very quickly hoping that no one would understand what he was saying.

Sally looked at him shocked and, without even explaining anything to the other four people in the room, she followed Wu Fei outside.

"Sally…" started to say Lucrezia getting up to follow her best friend, she was stopped by Catherine's voice.

"I'm going to find my brother…Relena's very sick...She's in that man's house…".

"What? How did you…" asked Lucrezia astonished.

"I always thought it would come useful learning some Chinese…" Catherine replied while leaving the room.

Lucrezia followed her out the room. Quatre looked at his wife and, without exchanging any words, decided to follow the three women. Quatre was worried about all these new developments, his peaceful nature was disturbed by everything that was happening. His wife, in the contrary, was quite thrilled by all the intrigue but, of course, being as well educated as she was, she knew better than to express those feelings.

END OF CHAPTER NINE


	10. Chapter Ten

A/N: Thanks once again for all reviews!! You're great and you make my effort worthwhile! Now, back to the fic:

Chapter Ten

Trowa had never felt so impotent and frustrated in his life. He had had enough of people telling him what to do and had wanted to say so in front of the French governor but, he had not even been allowed to speak.

He was leaving, together with Milliardo and Treize, the French governor's house when, lifting his head saw his sister waiting for him next to his horse.

"Catherine? What are you doing here?" Trowa asked surprised to see his sister there.

"I know where Relena is…she's in that Chinese guide's house and…I think she's also very sick…that Chinese man took Sally with him…" Catherine replied trying to hide the anger that, seeing her brother's sombre expression, provoked.

"What? That bloody bastard!!" said Milliardo before turning round to get his horse.

Treize followed him and Trowa, before doing the same, and speaking to his sister said:

"You better go back home, thank you for telling us…".

"But…" Catherine started saying.

"Please, Cathy, don't argue with me…not now…" Trowa said before leaving so she would not have time to reply.

"Catherine, let's go home…there is no need for us here…" Lucrezia said putting an arm around Trowa's sister's shoulders and taking her to the carriage.

"And we're going to go to our home…" Quatre said feeling that the occasion called for a quiet retreat.

"But darling…" Dorothy said not wanting to miss the fun.

"Dorothy…this is not a circus…we're going to go home and we'll just stay there till we're needed…" said Quatre firmly surprising his wife with his unaccustomed tone of voice.

With this, Dorothy and Quatre boarded their own carriage and following Catherine's, started their way home.

Meanwhile, Sally and Wu Fei had arrived to the Chinese man's house. Her heart was beating faster and faster. Malaria. Why, from all the diseases that punished this side of the planet, Relena had to get malaria.

As soon as they entered the room where Relena and Heero were, the latter got up and said:

"She's been shivering all the time, I've been putting a wet piece of cloth on her forehead but it doesn't seem to help…" said Heero with a tone of voice that to someone that didn't know him appeared detached but, Wu Fei knew that Heero was suffering quite a lot.

"Don't worry…I will take care of her…" said Sally hoping she sounded a lot surer than she felt. Although it was true what she had told Relena regarding her husband, as a doctor it had caused her an enormous amount of pain seeing a patient die. Since then, she had tried to stay away from that disease.

Heero observed Sally work. She was preparing some solution he identified as quinine, soon she started giving it to Relena with a spoon trying to get her to swallow as much as possible. Meanwhile Heero kept renewing the wet cloth.

"You've done very well with that cloth…it has probably kept the temperature more or less stable..." Sally said trying to smile. Heero detected some fear in her eyes but decided to ignore it.

Relena started mumbling incomprehensible things. Heero tried to soothe her by saying something in Japanese. Sally didn't speak the language so she couldn't make up the exact words but, using her instinct, she understood roughly what Heero had said.

"When did you fall in love with her?" asked Sally directly.

"When I saw her strength…she's got more courage than I have…I saw she was prepared to fight whatever life put in her way…I felt I wanted to fight it with her…" Heero said not lifting his eyes from Relena.

"Well, it was pretty quick, wasn't it? I guess it's true what people say: there isn't a set amount of time for these kind of things. But please tell me one thing, what happened last night?" Sally asked wanting to know exactly how come Relena had ended up there.

"Relena escaped from the mansion and Wu Fei found her on the street trying to find me…he took her here and she told me we had to leave…so we left…" Heero said like if it was a normal thing to do for a lady to run away in the middle of the night.

"What are you doing here?" suddenly, Heero and Sally heard Wu Fei's voice from the room next door where he had decided to go to get out of the way.

"Where is my sister?" that voice…Heero remembered that voice…it was the guy that had hired them to take Relena and Sally to Hanoi. The Japanese man knew that his presence there meant bad news.

Sally looked at Heero and he exchanged it briefly before moving it up to face an enraged Milliardo Peacecraft that had entered the room where Relena was ignoring Wu Fei's protests.

"Who the hell are you?" Milliardo shouted.

"He's Heero Yuy, you hired him to take your sister and I to Hanoi, remember?" Sally replied in his place knowing that Heero was more than prepared to fight him.

"So…now I get the picture…you're the bastard that has convinced my sister to run away…probably you used your time well during your trip here getting in her head the stupid notion that she was in love with you…I hope for your own good you have not laid a finger on my sister…" Milliardo said getting very close to Heero, Sally realised that Milliardo would probably hit Heero and, was thinking of something to do when Treize intervened stopping any possible fight.

"What's your name?" he said asking the question to Heero.

"My name is Heero Yuy…" replied the Japanese man facing Treize but not losing sight of Milliardo.

"Is it true that you and Miss Peacecraft tried to run away last night?" Treize asked keeping his voice so neutral that it was to make up whether he was angry or nor.

"Yes it is true…" Heero replied finally getting up so he would face the two, taller men better. Although he was very tall for the Japanese average, the two English gentlemen were a lot taller than he was.

"Then I'm very sorry but I'm going to have to arrest you…" Treize said not actually sounding sad at all.

"What?" asked Sally shocked.

"You know the law Sally…now we better take Relena back home so we can take care of her properly…" Milliardo said happy to see that Heero would end up in prison.

"You can't do that…" said Trowa suddenly making Heero realise that the French man was also there.

"Pardon me?" said Treize surprised.

"This is not a British colony, we will have to wait to see what the French governor decides…" Trowa said in a desperate attempt to buy some time having figured out that the Japanese man was who Relena had described as being the object of her affections. And, it was also pretty clear to Trowa that, as Relena had hoped, Heero returned those feelings.

"Well, in this case, I'll have you to know that your dear governor has granted me all the authority to proceed as I see fit…so, he is under arrest…" Treize said crushing Trowa's hopes.

Then Heero, taking the chance that Trowa had given him distracting Treize, pushed his way through the door knocking both Treize and Milliardo to the ground.

Treize was the first to react:

"Guards! Get that man or I'll have you court marshalled!" .

Wu Fei fled outside and saw Heero fighting against the eight soldiers that had followed the British governor. He took one step to help but he heard a voice behind him saying:

"If you help him you'll be arrested as well…" it was Trowa who had spoken, then, in a very small voice, he added: "I have a plan…and I need you to be free…".

Heero fought really well but, he had not slept in over twenty four hours, hadn't eaten since the previous evening and had ridden for almost seven hours non stop so, even for a samurai, unarmed samurai, eight fully equipped British soldiers were a bit too much.

Finally, one of the soldiers hit him with the back of his rifle making Heero drop unconscious on the ground.

Wu Fei winced like if he had been slapped. There was only one thing that made him absolutely furious, and that was injustice.

"She came looking for him! He's not guilty…" Wu Fei said trying to defend his friend.

"Even so, she's under Milliardo's custody…and she's a woman…it's hardly possible that she would be allowed to take a decision by herself…" replied Treize. Wu Fei, hearing the sexist comment hated himself for, once upon a time, he would have said pretty much the same thing. But two women, first Mei Lan and later Sally, had made him change his mind regarding the supposed weakness of the so-called feeble sex.

Sally was shocked by all the things that she had been forced to witness but, hearing what Treize had said, she thought that her opinion would be of little or no value to the British governor.

In any case, Milliardo went inside once he had seen Heero being handcuffed and put on a horse, still unconscious, and got his sister in his arms. Then, talking to Trowa, said:

"We need to take her to your house…".

With this, Milliardo started to walk to the carriage that Sally had used to get there.

Placing Relena inside with the maximum care, ordered Trowa and Sally to get on the carriage. Then, looking at Treize, said:

"Old friend…I take you'll punish that bastard like he deserves…".

"Sure…count on it…" Treize replied ordering his soldiers to get moving.

"I'll see you tonight…Une is dying to see your wife to show off her new dress…" Treize added before leaving with Heero and his soldiers.

Sally was repulsed by this new and completely unknown side of Milliardo. He had always been a caring person but, now he had been…abominable. She then looked at Trowa and when he returned the look, Sally found a very strange message in those emerald green eyes of his.

They were trying to say 'don't worry, everything will be alright'. Unfortunately Sally just didn't know how this mess could be sorted out.

Sally saw Wu Fei standing by his house's door, then, when Milliardo got the carriage moving, the Anglo-Chinese doctor looked at the back of it and seeing Relena's closed eyes, she thought how lucky the girl was not having had to see her love being taken away. Yet again, Sally thought of the pain it would cause Relena when she would find out. That was, of course, if she recovered…

END OF CHAPTER TEN


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: Sorry guys! I have been FOUR days without being able to write!!! Just not had the time for it…now, the weekend is finally here so I hope I will be able to upload at least a couple of chapters…

As usual, thank you very much for your reviews, specially the ones from the most faithful ones…they do help me to push myself to update as often as possible…

Now, back to the fic…

Chapter Eleven

Heero woke up with a huge pain on the back of his head and feeling disoriented. He looked around himself and saw that he was in a small room that looked very much like a cell. Then, slowly, he started remembering everything.

"Relena!" the Japanese man exclaimed loudly only causing himself further pain in his already suffering head.

Heero was getting frustrated with the confusion that clouded his mind. He started doing what his training as a samurai had taught him, he had to put his thoughts in order so he would figure out the best action plan.

Although he didn't know the exact location, he knew that he was in some sort of prison. Heero knew that, if he ever hoped to see Relena again, he had to get away from there as soon as possible.

He started taking a closer look around the room trying to find something he could use to open the only entrance to the room. The door.

Unfortunately there was nothing useful in the room. The so-called bed where he had been lying was nothing more than a rough piece of cloth covering some straw. There were no further elements of furniture.

Then, ignoring the pain and the hunger, he decided to go towards the door to have a look at it. The door was pretty simple, it was held to the wall by two big hinges fixed to the door with a single metallic bar.

'This is handy…it'll be a piece of cake…' Heero thought having already found a way to get out of there. He was about to start pulling the metallic bar when he heard voices coming from the other side of the door. He then heard someone opening the door and Heero stepped back preparing himself to fight his way out.

"Hello…your name is Heero, isn't it?" asked a man that Heero recognised immediately.

"You're Barton, aren't you?" the Japanese man asked lowering his fists temporarily.

"Yes I am..." Trowa replied ignoring the Japanese man's hostility.

"What do you want?" Heero said seeing, for his consternation, that the door was being locked again. He would now have to wait for someone to open it again to let the French man out.

"Well…firstly, I would like to ask you a few questions, then I have something I want to tell you…" Trowa replied settling himself with his back against one of the walls.

"Hn…" was what Heero gave as reply.

"Alright then…tell me a bit about you…" Trowa asked suddenly.

Heero, surprised by the question, looked up at him, the French man was a bit taller than he was and, seeing that Trowa was serious, Heero asked:

"What do you want to know?".

"Well…tell me where are you from, what are you doing here and…what do you want to do with your life…" Trowa replied without any hesitation.

"Why should I tell you?" Heero asked provocatively.

"Because unless you convince me that you are the right one for Relena, you'll lose every hope you have to ever see her again…" Trowa replied this time looking at him directly.

Heero was shocked…but not enough to forget to ask:

"Have you seen her? How is she doing?".

"She's very weak still…malaria is a nasty disease…even if you are lucky enough to have the money to buy the quinine…Milliardo keeps saying she's a fighter and she'll pull through it…I wish I was so confident as well…but, I think that, unless we give her a reason to live…well…you know…" Trowa said not wanting to finish the sentence.

"A reason to live? And what would that be?" Heero asked not fully understanding Trowa's point.

"Right now, Relena doesn't know what's happened…but, she keeps calling your name and you're never there…she woke up briefly the other day and Milliardo told her that you had left to Japan…I wasn't supposed to hear it but I was just behind the door…so, she thinks she's never going to see you again…she's probably thinking she's going to be forced to marry me now she's back to my house…" Trowa said with a very sad tone of voice.

"I see…I don't fancy telling you all about me…for there isn't much to be said. Essentially, I was brought up by my master since I lost both my parents when I was a baby. No one really knows what happened to them. My master raised me to be a samurai like himself…he said that the most honourable thing to do was dying for the Emperor…protecting him…it was the only acceptable way for a samurai to die. Then, just as I had started being independent and having my own tasks assigned, there was a change in the government and suddenly we, the samurai, were not needed anymore, we fought hard, but ultimately, we lost and now an army is guarding the Emperor. My master, before dying, made me promise I would escape from Japan since he felt it would have been dangerous for us samurai to stay there, some army officers didn't like us very much…so I did…I got in the first ship from Nagasaki harbour and it took me to Haiphong. There I met Wu Fei and we decided to work together…My master also made me promise I would live my life guided by my emotions…I think he was wrong…" Heero said finishing his story.

"Why do you say that? I think your master was right…" Trowa said feeling sorry for him, the poor man had been trained all his life for something that was no longer useful...Heero probably felt out of place all the time.

"Look at where my feelings have brought me to…" Heero said bitterly.

"You shouldn't worry about this…it is only temporary…but, tell me, why do you love Relena…that is if you love her, of course…" Trowa asked shocking Heero for the second time in a row.

"I do love her…it is so confusing to me…I don't know why I love her…it's probably because she's not afraid of me like most people are…and she's so much stronger than I am…I've never seen anyone as prepared as she is to do almost everything in order to live her life the way she wants to…yeah…that is probably why I love her…" Heero said surprising himself with his own words.

"That is what I needed to hear…I have a plan…but for that I need you to stay here…you were probably planning to escape, weren't you?" Trowa asked and without waiting for a more than sure confirmation of his theory, the French man added, "Alright then…you need to stay here…I will ensure you get out when it will be the moment…if everything goes according to my plan, you and Relena will be on your way to wherever you want to go…" .

With this, Trowa went to the door and knocked it to call the guards.

"Where are you going now?" Heero said.

"I'm going to give your woman a reason to live…" Trowa answered before leaving the room leaving Heero feeling unusually happy but also nervous. He didn't have any control over the situation and he was not used to the frustrating feeling of impotence.

Sally came out of Relena's room looking exhausted. The girl had been unconscious over four days now and, it didn't seem as though as she was getting any better…

"How's she doing?" asked Trowa seeing the doctor sitting down to take a well deserved break.

"Oh…she's so weak…if only I could do something else…Milliardo has left to get another doctor to see if he can help…" Sally replied not even having the energy to complain about Milliardo's lack of trust.

"Can I go in to see her?" asked Trowa suddenly.

"Sure…but…" Sally said her shocked eyes speaking volumes for her.

"She's going to be my wife…I better take care of her…" Trowa said walking towards the room where Relena was sleeping leaving a started Sally behind.

"What's going on?" Lucrezia asked seeing Sally's astonished look.

"Well, if I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I would have thought I was dreaming…I think that Trowa has finally come to his senses about Relena…I guess he has accepted the order he's been given…" Sally explained.

"That's good…I really think that Trowa is the right man for Relena…but, I do feel sorry for Heero…after all he didn't really kidnap Relena…it was more…" Lucrezia was saying when a voice, coming from behind the two women interrupted her.

"You know the law…Relena is a minor and that man took her away without her guardian's permission…" .

"But Catherine…" started Sally.

"Where's my brother?" asked the read head not wanting to argue about something she obviously thought she was right.

"He's in there, with Relena…" Sally replied.

"Très bien…now, I will go to the kitchen to supervise our dinner…" Catherine said with a smile walking away from the two women.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Trowa sat next to a sleeping Relena. At first he just stared at her. The girl was really beautiful…it wasn't the down to earth beauty of his Midii, it was an almost ethereal one. She looked every bit like an angel.

Trowa definitely could understand why Heero had fallen for her. He would have had it not been because his heart was already taken…

He felt furious…this plan of his had to work, otherwise many people would get really upset and four people would be doomed to live their lives in complete misery.

"Relena...you'll see Heero again… I promise…I will do everything I can to prevent this wedding…I now understand that, no matter how hard we try, there is no way our marriage would work. I cannot be Heero and you cannot be my Midii…we would be forced to forget them and you know as well as I do that this is impossible…I will love Midii all my life and I know now that you will love Heero as well. The same way he loves you…because he does….I'm sure of that…I have a plan, but I need you for it…please wake up soon…".

He realised as he finished that he was grabbing her hand and without thinking twice, bent down to kiss it.

Then, getting up, he walked out of the room resolutely and, ignoring the looks that both Sally and Lucrezia were giving him, went to a place he thought he would never visit again. Midii's house.

The platinum blond girl looked, to say the least, amazed to see him there.

"Mon cher…" Midii managed to say before throwing herself at him bursting in tears.

He hugged her and with one hand started stroking her hair murmuring all the sweet words that only Midii could inspire him. Trowa felt like coming back home after having been away from it for a long time.

"I need your help for something…" Trowa said before going inside the small house where his lover lived.

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Trowa got on his horse feeling happier than he had been for a long time. Having spent the night with Midii and knowing that he had her full support made him very happy indeed. Now, for his plan to work, he would also need Wu Fei's cooperation.

The Chinese man was pretty much shocked when, opening the front door of his house, found himself facing Relena's husband to be.

"What do you want?" asked not very politely.

"I need your help for something…"Trowa said ignoring the hostile look that the Chinese man was giving him.

"Why do you think I should help you?" Wu Fei asked not even bothering asking Trowa to come in.

"Well, I realise that you may be very upset with me because of your friend but, I assure you that I have the best intentions…" Trowa explained to Wu Fei that kept looking at him sceptically.

After a pregnant silence, during which Wu Fei seemed to be considering his options, the Chinese man said:

"Alright then…come in and let's see what I can do for you…".

Heero had been staring the brick in front of him for ages. He was getting increasingly nervous, knowing he could get away from there easily but knowing he would ruin everything if he did was the worst bit. No, actually the worst bit was NOT knowing how Relena was. He just needed to know she was going to be fine.

Heero was afraid and that was a novelty for him. He was scared that he would lose her. It was crazy that someone as collected as he was, someone that laughed at normal, human feelings, had just fallen for a girl in no time at all.

Love at the first sight…that's what silly, romantic people called it. Heero doubted that such thing existed but, now, having it experienced it first hand, knew that it was real. His rational self told him it was a normal chemical reaction for someone as attractive as Relena but, analysing the situation, he realised that he needed that rational reasoning in order to stay sane, because what he felt for Relena was absolutely irrational.

But he didn't want to stop feeling it. It felt really good to love someone and, knowing that she loved him back was just heaven.

Suddenly, his instincts warned him to stay alert: someone was opening the door. Through it, he saw the two people he wanted to see the least.

"Good morning Heero…" said Treize walking in the small cell with Milliardo behind him.

Not seeing any reply, Milliardo said:

"You really ought to be more polite…".

"It's enough Milliardo…you should wait outside now…" Treize said interrupting Milliardo.

"Alright then…" replied the platinum blond man leaving, not very enthusiastically, the room.

As soon as Treize and Heero were on their own, the governor said:

"I assume you just don't realise how grave your situation is…".

Treize stared at Heero as in waiting for a reply but, not getting anything else but a glare from the Japanese man, Treize said:

"Well, I guess that your silence confirms what I thought. No, you don't realise you are interfering with the French and the British governments' plans. You see, you've fallen for the wrong girl. Relena Peacecraft is going to marry Trowa Barton and there is nothing you can do about it. In fact, it has been my insistence that has prevented you from being interrogated by the French authorities and, I can assure you, they aren't the kindest of people…".

After a short pause to see if Heero said something and seeing that the Japanese man was not going to, Treize continued:

"In any case, now we need you out of the picture so you cannot jeopardise our plans to get the peace we've been fighting so hard to get…so, from next Monday onwards, you'll be in the hands of the French, and as it happens with most prisoners of the French, you're going to be sent to one of their 'camps'…meanwhile, you'll stay here and, please do behave properly...the French governor is a personal friend of mine and I've given him my word that you are going to be a good boy…".

With this Treize turned around to knock on the door so the guards would let him out. Heero felt like breaking his sorry neck right there and was about to move when Treize said without turning around:

"I know you're literally burning with fury and that you'll gladly kill me now but, I would reserve the energy for later…you may need it if the French decide to…have a little fun with you…".

With this Treize left the room, while they were closing the door, Heero heard him telling Milliardo not to worry about Relena…apparently she was getting much stronger now.

Heero almost forgot what Treize had told him. Hearing that Relena's health was improving made him ridiculously happy. In any case, he wondered what Trowa's plan was about.

'It better be good…or else I will kill him…' Heero thought, reassuming his usual sitting position so he could once more stare at the same old brick.

One of the samurai teachings was to focus your gaze on something neutral so you could canalise all your negative energy towards it. Once your negative energy was out of your mind, your thoughts became much clearer and it was easier to relax.

Trowa got up ready to leave Wu Fei's house when someone knocked on the front door. The Chinese man went to open the door and found his fiancée Sally.

The woman, seeing Trowa there, let out a audible sigh.

"Thank goodness!! Trowa, we've been looking for you all over the place!! What are you doing here?" Sally said short of breath like if she had been running.

"Why? What's wrong? Is it Relena??" Trowa asked alarmed.

"Yes…she's finally woken up…she's asking for you…she wants to speak to you…come on…" Sally said turning round to go back to the carriage she had used to get there.

"How did you think of coming here?" Trowa said following her only turning briefly to look at Wu Fei to ask a silent question, the Chinese man replied with a nod.

"Well, it's the only place we had left…" Sally said entirely missing the exchange between the two men.

Trowa boarded the carriage with the blond girl and ordered the driver to take them to his house as fast as possible. He decided to leave his horse there. It had been two very busy days for the poor thing and it deserved some rest.

The French man was back to his usual silent mood so Sally chose not to break this silence. Instead she stared at him as discreetly as possible.

He looked a bit different. One no longer saw the defeated expression on his eyes as if now he had a reason to be happy. Sally, with her romantic notions, thought it was the news about Relena's recovery.

As soon as they got to the house, Trowa helped Sally off the carriage and raced towards Relena's room.

There, in front of the door, he encountered his sister Catherine.

"Where have you been? You didn't even spend the night here…" she started asking.

"Catherine…I will tell you once more…I'm not a child anymore…you really should stop asking so many questions…what I do with my life now is none of your business…" Trowa replied leaving a speechless Catherine staring at him while Trowa entered the room.

No one was there. Only Relena lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Trowa thought she was sleeping again so turned round to leave the room.

"Trowa…" he heard her soft voice calling him and that made him stop.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to wake you up…" Trowa said turning round to face her. She still looked beautiful even though she had lost weight because of the sweating and she had two blackish shadows under her eyes.

She patted next to her on the bed inviting him to sit there and Trowa, closing the small gap between him and the bed, sat down and took one of Relena's hands. Doing so he realised just how weak she still was, and how fragile. He had not seen that aspect before. Relena was physically small but her strong personality hid that fact from everyone. Now, seeing her like that, made Trowa feel very weird.

He needed to clear his throat before speaking.

"Sally's told me you were calling me…".

"Yes…I wanted to confirm that what I've heard from you during my sleep were just a product of the delirium caused by the fever…" Relena asked trying very hard so her voice sounded as strong as usual but failing miserably.

"No, they were not caused by the delirium…I meant every single one of the words I said to you…I'm just shocked you remember them…" Trowa said happy to see that his plan was beginning to work.

"How could I? You gave me the hope I needed to pull through the disease…I will be forever grateful…" Relena said giving him the best smile she could manage.

"Don't thank me yet…I've got a plan but for it to work, like I said, I need you to get stronger…we've got to get married and soon…" Trowa said shocking Relena.

"What? But I thought…" the blond girl started saying.

"Don't worry…just trust me…we won't get as far as taking our vows…" Trowa said getting up, then, before walking to the door, added, "now you need to rest as much as possible and eat everything they give you…trust me Relena…everything will be fine…".

"I trust you…Trowa...I'm sorry we had to meet like this…I believe we could have been friends…" Relena said sadly.

"We are friends…and we will stay friends…I hope you feel the same…" Trowa said stopping briefly. Then, opening the door, Trowa left the room, Relena laid back on her pillow, tired, and went back to sleep.

That same night, the Peacecraft's and the Winner's, joined Trowa and his sister for a celebration dinner. Sally had gone out to meet Wu Fei for dinner.

Trowa, hearing Milliardo's referring what Treize had told him about Heero's sentence was glad that Relena was not there.

"Well, with that settled…we better organise the wedding as soon as possible…" Trowa said trying to divert the topic of the conversation.

"Why that sudden change of mind…Relena's just recovered…" started saying Milliardo.

"She actually asked me herself…she wants this to be over with so she can forget Heero…the disease has made her see what really matters in this life…" lied Trowa very convincingly.

"Right then…the church is empty this Saturday…the Prêtre has told me so himself…" said Catherine eager to see his brother finally married.

"But it's already Tuesday…" said Dorothy not conceiving the fact that a proper high society wedding could be organised in such short time.

"Actually, it does make sense, most of the guests are already here…so we shouldn't have problems…besides, we already have most of it organised…" said Lucrezia not wanting to mention the reason of the previous date's cancellation.

"Perfect then…I'm sure Relena will be strong enough by then…and, this time, there will be no reason and no one that will prevent you two from getting married" said Milliardo happy to see that everything was heading the right direction.

"Let's hope not…" said Trowa trying to avoid Quatre's gaze. The Arabian man knew him too well and he would probably be able to see that he was clearly lying.

END OF CHAPTER TWELVE


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Before I leave you to read the next chapter, I would like to remind you that today (01/27/04) fifty nine years ago, the Russian army entered the concentration camp of Auschwitz discovering for the first time what the Nazi government was truly doing to the Jews and other 'unwanted' citizens. I would like each of you to light a white candle and/or say a little prayer so something like that never repeats itself. Ever.

"Peace is something that is not freely given to each of us, we must fight for it". Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, Endless Waltz.

Chapter Thirteen

The day before the wedding, Trowa and Quartre were doing their usual check around the plantations. Milliardo was out with Treize and the women were in the house resting.

"It's really amazing how quickly Relena has recovered, isn't it?" asked Quatre looking at Trowa in the eye trying to find something in those emerald eyes that could confirm his suspicions.

"Yes it is…" replied Trowa knowing that Relena had done her best to appear healthy enough for the wedding, even though he knew that she was nowhere near as strong as she pretended to be.

"Trowa…who do you think you're fooling?" asked Quatre suddenly.

"What? I don't know what you mean…" Trowa said turning his attention to one of the fields in the opposite direction.

Then Quatre made his horse speed up and crossed it in front of Trowa's blocking the pass.

"You may have fooled Milliardo and the rest but I know you too well and I know that you haven't given up…I don't know what you are planning now but I know for sure that it doesn't involve Relena taking your surname…" said Quatre almost losing his proverbial kindness.

"Quatre…" Trowa said shocked and confused, he did not want to get the Arabian man involved in this situation.

"Trowa…whatever it is, I hope you're not doing anything stupid…in any case, if I can help you, you know I will…I don't care about the politics, you're my friend and that comes first for me…" Quatre said moving his horse so they could continue their way.

Hearing his friend's words, Trowa decided then to explain to Quatre what his plan was about. The Arabian man was shocked at the recklessness of Trowa's plan but again he was quite used to it.

"I knew it…it's a very bold move, but you know that, don't you? Anyhow, I am prepared to help you and, if you think of anything I can do…well, feel free to ask…" said Quatre patting his friend's arm.

"Thank you Quatre…you are a true friend…" replied Trowa happy to see that at least he had Quatre on his side.

They got back to the house after finishing their round. Milliardo had sent for Lucrezia to be picked up and they had gone to have dinner at the French governor's house. The Winner's headed to their residence leaving Trowa alone with his sister.

"Relena is sleeping…she said that she's going to take a good rest before tomorrow" announced the red head as soon as she saw her brother coming in the house.

Trowa enjoyed for a minute the quietness of the house. It had been a very noisy week and he was beginning to get stressed about it. He preferred his house when it was quiet like now.

"Good…she'll need it…" Trowa said taking a seat next to where his sister was sitting reading a book.

"You're going to be happy…" affirmed Catherine putting down her book.

"I know I'm going to be happy…" Trowa said completely agreeing with his sister for the first time in quite a few days.

"I'm glad you agree…Trowa, I wanted to talk to you about your behaviour…" started Catherine.

"What a coincidence…I wanted to talk to you about the same thing…Catherine, it's actually YOUR behaviour that has been quite…shocking…these last few days. You are my sister and I appreciate your opinion regarding most matters but…I want to ask you this one thing: stay away from my personal life. I love you dearly and you will always be my sister but…I cannot accept the way you've been trying to impose your views on me…" Trowa said interrupting his sister's words.

"But, I only…" Catherine started again.

"I know…you're looking out for my best interests but, your help, this time, is not needed…I know you feel guilty because our grandfather treated you better than he treated me but I don't keep any hard feelings for him…he made me the man I'm today and…it is thanks to him that now I know that it is up to me to decide what to do with my life…" Trowa said interrupting his sister once more.

"What do you mean…" Catherine said confused.

"Don't worry about it…just know this, I love you and I think that, no matter what I do, you will love me too…" Trowa said grabbing his sister's book to see what she was reading.

"Of course…you're my baby brother…I will always love you…but…" Catherine said even more confused.

"Enough with this…I didn't know you liked these sort of stories…" Trowa said pointing at the romantic book his sister was reading.

"Relena has recommended it to me…" Catherine said blushing slightly.

"She's made a good choice…everyone should be more romantic…" Trowa said putting the book back in his sister's hands getting up and, before leaving the room, added, "we better go and get some dinner…tomorrow will be a busy day…".

Heero woke up on Saturday morning. Wu Fei had paid him a visit the day before to update him on Relena's health and had explained to him all the details regarding Trowa's plans. Heero was very happy to hear that Relena was now awake and, although she tried her best to appear strong, the Japanese man feared that she would not be healthy enough to cope with the whole thing.

In any case, he needed to concentrate now. He knew that they had only one chance, if he got caught, the whole plan would fail. He got up and pulled out the small saw that Wu Fei had managed to sneak in. Not that Heero needed it but it would certainly make things a lot easier.

Heero winced one second. He had forgotten the results from the last 'visit' from his 'sociable' guards. It seemed that, ever since Treize had officially handed him over to the French, they had decided to start showing him what to expect as their prisoner.

Not that it bothered him much…he was used to this kind of treatment. It took a lot more than beating up to break Heero's spirit. Besides, now he had something to look forward to. He just hoped that the trust he was placing on Trowa was not to be wasted.

The object of his affections was up having a bath. Relena was washing her hair carefully. She knew that she had to play the happy bride part so she set herself to do her best performance.

Lucrezia was already in the room preparing the dress and, after the blond girl had finished with the bath, the older woman helped her drying her hair so they could do the hairdo needed for the veil.

The dress was really pretty. A white silk princess cut with numerous satin ribbons crossing the chest of the dress in an intricate pattern. The veil was made of an incredibly thin fabric. Relena found herself unwillingly enthusiast about it.

Lucrezia was applying a little bit of make up to finish off when Catherine came into the room.

"Wow, chérie…you look… magnifique!" she said seeing her future sister in law almost ready.

"Thank you…so do you…" said Relena seeing Catherine with her lilac chiffon dress.

"Well…we really shouldn't be chatting…your brother will be here to pick you up in no time at all…" Lucrezia said grabbing her bag that matched her dark blue dress, and taking Catherine's arm, the two women left the room leaving Relena alone.

Relena was nervous knowing she would have to spend time alone with her brother…at least the short carriage ride to the church.

She decided, just as her brother was knocking on the door, that in order to make it realistic she had to imagine she was marrying Heero. She started thinking of how she would feel if this wedding was Heero's and hers. A huge grin appeared instantly and said with a very cheery voice:

"Come in!".

Milliardo opened the door and stood there waiting for his sister to join him. He didn't bother hiding the admiration he felt seeing the beautiful woman that Relena had become.

"Are you ready?" he asked happy to see the smile that curved his sister's lips.

"Sure…let's go…" Relena replied getting up and heading to the door.

The trip to the church lasted only ten minutes. The two siblings spent most of it silently staring outside the window. Then, as they were arriving, Relena said:

"Milliardo thank you for everything…".

Milliardo looked at her puzzled but he interpreted it as a sign of surrender. He was happy, Relena had finally realised that this was the best thing for her. He smiled and replied:

"No problem…now let's not keep that young man waiting any longer…".

Relena was walked up the aisle by a very proud Milliardo. He finally left her by Trowa's side. The French man was smiling at her. She wished she could be as calm as he was. Relena was also fighting a faint feeling reminding her of her weak condition. She grabbed Trowa's hand hoping he would transfer to her some of his strength and, if not, at least she would not fall to the ground.

The church was absolutely packed. Sally looked around herself upset because Wu Fei had not made it. She wondered where the Chinese man was and really wanted to go and look for him but, unfortunately, she could not leave the church being one of the bridesmaids.

The ceremony started and the priest began celebrating the nuptial mass.

"If anyone in this room knows any reason why these two people should not get married, speak now or forever hold their peace…".

The priest stopped the usual few seconds and, taking for granted no one would speak up, was going to continue when suddenly, a woman entered the church through one of the side doors holding a pistol to her head.

"Midii!!!" Trowa shouted very realistically. It had been one thing planning it but, seeing the love of his life with a pistol, a real pistol, pointed at her head was another, a lot scarier thing.

"I will kill myself if you don't stop this…" Midii shouted with tears falling from her light blue eyes.

"Oh pray the Lord!!" exclaimed the priest so shocked he put one of his hands on his throat and, with the other, wiped his face just not being able to believe the whole thing.

"Someone stop that woman!!" Treize shouted.

"If you get anywhere near me, I will shoot myself and if you don't value my life that much…then I will shoot her" Midii said moving the pistol from her head to Relena that stood close by.

"NO!! Stop there!!" Milliardo shouted seeing that the platinum blond woman was dead serious about it.

Treize looked at Milliardo and the governor ordered his soldiers to stop. The whole church was in a state of commotion. Some of the ladies actually fainted. The priest was very close to do it himself.

Suddenly, Quatre, reacted and took Relena away from the pistol. Relena had time for a quick look at Trowa. They exchanged a very precise message of gratefulness and friendship.

Then, Relena was pushed by Quatre to one of the side rooms and that prevented her from seeing what happened next.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Due to health issues I haven't been able to upload this chapter even though I already had it written. I apologise to everyone that has been waiting for me to update. I hope you haven't given up on me!

Thanks a lot to everyone that has taken some of their time to read and review this. You really help me to keep going!!

Now, back to the fic…

Chapter Fourteen

Entering the side room, Relena was about to turn around to speak to Quatre when she saw Wu Fei through the door that led outside. He was standing by a carriage.

"Come on Miss, we don't have time to waste…" the Chinese man said then, as to prove his point, Quatre said:

"Wu Fei, hurry up and punch me…".

"What?" almost shouted Relena not believing her ears thinking that the nice Arabian man had gone mad.

"Miss get on the carriage at once…" insisted Wu Fei pushing her towards it. Relena boarded the carriage without a second thought. Within a fraction of a second, she saw the Chinese man punching Quatre on his face, the blond Arabian man falling on his back apparently unconscious and Wu Fei sitting on the driver's seat to get the carriage moving as fast as possible.

"Wu Fei!! What have you done?" Relena asked finally recovering from the whole thing.

"I'm taking you to Heero…what you've seen was just part of Trowa's plan…don't worry about Quatre, he actually volunteered for it…" Wu Fei said turning briefly to give her what it dangerously looked like a smile.

Meanwhile, in the church, Trowa ran to protect Midii from the soldiers that were about to capture her while Treize and the French governor were doing their best to calm everyone down.

"Midii, now's the moment to escape…" the French man whispered.

Then Midii, fired the pistol's only shot hitting a white marble column provoking the even bigger commotion she needed to distract everyone's attention.

At this point, Midii escaped through the same side door she had came from, opposite the one Relena and Quatre had used to escape. Then, Milliardo, the quickest to recover, fled towards the door trying to follow the platinum blond girl. Trowa, afraid that Milliardo would actually catch his lover, shouted:

"Forget about her…go and get Relena, we have a wedding to celebrate!".

Milliardo stopped and turned to go to the other side door to retrieve his sister while Trowa prayed that Wu Fei had made it on time and hoping that Quatre would be alright.

He got an almost immediate reply when Milliardo, coming out from the small side room, shouted:

"Relena's disappeared!!!".

"What??" asked Trowa pretending to be shocked and realising that he was much better actor than he had thought.

"No way!" said Lucrezia and Sally at the same time looking at each other with discomfort while Catherine was swearing in French.

"We've got to find her…" said Treize ready to intervene incredibly annoyed with the whole confusing situation.

"Hang on…where's Quatre?" Trowa asked suddenly trying to buy as much time as possible.

"I'm here…" Quatre said coming in the room rubbing his left cheek that was getting a nasty shade of red.

"What the hell has happened to you Winner?" asked Milliardo so shocked that he was ready to believe that pink elephants actually existed and that they could fly.

"I don't know, I got Relena to sit down and I turned around to come back here when somebody hit me and knocked me on the floor. I tried to follow them outside but I fell again, unconscious…I'm sorry…" Quatre said playing the part even more convincingly than Trowa himself.

"This is a mess!! We'll have to go and get her…I'm pretty sure I know who the person was…" Milliardo said.

"I'll come with you…" Treize started saying only to be interrupted by Trowa:

"No…Mr Khushrenada…this is my fiancée we're talking about…I'll go and find her…she's already escaped once…she won't do it twice…" Trowa said and, determinately started walking to where the horses were hoping that Treize would stay there, the French man really didn't want the British governor to follow them.

Milliardo looked hesitantly at the British governor not really knowing what to do. Then Treize said:

"Milliardo, you go and find your sister, I will stay here and take care of your guests…".

"Alright then…thanks…" Milliardo replied turning round to leave glad Treize did not look angry.

Getting out of prison, as Heero had predicted, was a piece of cake. He thought that the guards really needed a lot more training than they had. They had not even noticed he had escaped.

Now, he all he had to do, was to run to the point were he was supposed to meet Wu Fei and hopefully Relena.

The old barn was just behind the Winner's plantation, it had been left open by Quatre so the Japanese man could hide there.

Heero had not been there long when he heard a carriage arrive. Then he heard Wu Fei's whistle signalling that it was safe for him to come out.

When Heero came out the barn he was nowhere near prepared to see what he saw.

"Relena…" the Japanese man said seeing the blond young woman still dressed with her wedding gown. She was so beautiful that Heero felt his heart contract almost painfully inside his chest.

Relena just stood there looking at him. She wanted him to hug her and kiss her breathless but she did not move afraid that the whole thing was just a dream and she would wake up to find that nothing was real.

Finally Wu Fei seeing the whole scene, decided that if he didn't take the initiative, no one would, and said:

"Guys, I'm sorry for having to be the practical one but, you really should make a move here…".

"Excuse me?" Relena asked not fully understanding the meaning of the Chinese man's words.

"Well, we have half of the British and French colonialist army behind us, so unless you want to find yourself back in that church and Heero back in prison, we have to get you two on board on the first ship to America…" Wu Fei said losing his extremely limited patience. Really women were difficult creatures. He was happy his Sally was a lot more sensible than this young blond woman.

"Ah…ok…let's go…" Relena said feeling rather stupid getting back in the carriage. Heero, that still not saying a single word, followed her inside to sit facing her. Wu Fei sighing heavily, sat back on the driver's seat to head to the harbour.

"Heero…" Relena started saying once the carriage was in motion.

"How are you feeling?" Heero asked interrupting her.

"I'm feeling better…still quite weak but I'm much better now…I really thought I would not make it…" Relena replied glad to hear Heero's voice. She had sorely missed his very masculine monotone heavily accented voice.

Looking at him closely, Relena saw the marks caused by the 'special treatment' Heero had received while in prison. She felt sick knowing what he had been put through. She lifted a hand and tried to touch Heero's bruised cheek but Heero caught it with his and, suddenly, pulled her away from her seat and made her sit on his lap.

"You're so beautiful…"Heero said before placing his free hand behind Relena's head lowering it till his lips touched hers.

Relena felt everything spin around her. She then started feeling weaker and weaker and then, suddenly, all went black.

"Relena? RELENA!!" Heero shouted.

Wu Fei, hearing his friend's shout, stopped the carriage.

"What's wrong?" the Chinese man asked getting off the carriage opening the carriage's small door getting an immediate reply seeing the young blond woman laying unconscious in Heero's arms.

"She's just fainted…don't worry, she's been pushing herself to get better for today…as long as the fever doesn't come back, she'll be fine…" Wu Fei said closing the door and going back to the driver's seat to get the carriage back in motion.

Heero just stared at Relena's face feeling sick with worry. He put her head on his shoulder and hugged her keeping her body as close as possible to his.

"You're crazy…you should not have forced things…if something happens to you…" Heero whispered to himself not daring to finish the sentence.

Wu Fei made the horses go as fast as possible. He knew that they were being followed so it was essential he got to the harbour as soon as possible.

The Chinese man was shocked with his own behaviour. He was amazed about how much he had changed during the years. He had grown up by himself both his parents having died when he was a baby. He had been raised by his martial arts master and he would have been a heartless fighter had it not been because of Mei Lan, the stubborn Chinese woman that had been trained to be a tougher fighter than himself. She had shown him that living without feelings was useless and after many years of waiting for him to be ready, she had married him. He got mad thinking of the sorrow it had caused to find her dead after the assault his village had suffered.

He had then decided to leave China and moved to the Indochina area. He quickly gained an extensive knowledge of the place and its people and became a guide.

Then he met the two people that reminded him he still had feelings. First that half English half Chinese woman that was almost as stubborn as Mei Lan. After he found out her husband had just died and although he had felt tied to her by their common past, he had tried to fight what he felt for her but she just didn't let him put enough space between them so at the end he had given up and had admitted his feelings for her.

It had been during one of his trips to stay away from Sally that he had met Heero. Heero himself was as daunted by his past as Wu Fei was. Wu Fei knew very little from Heero's life since the Japanese man did not speak much but he knew enough to know that he had to stop him every time he had tried to kill himself.

He remembered the first time he had seen Heero trying to commit suicide. He was about to perform hara-kiri when Wu Fei stopped him and asked him why he wanted to die so badly.

Heero confessed that he had tried to kill himself while in Japan once he had realised that the samurai were doomed to disappear and to be forgotten by history. He felt dishonoured because he had not been able to fulfil his mission. As a samurai he had to die protecting the emperor but now, with the recent political developments in the raising sun empire, the samurai were no longer needed. Then his master had ordered him to leave the country and he had felt even more dishonoured. This was the reason why Heero wanted to die.

Wu Fei hoped that now that Relena had done for Heero the same than, first Mei Lan and then Sally, had done for himself, the Japanese man would forget about it and would never try to kill himself again.

After a few hours, they finally arrived to the harbour. Relena had waken up half way to the harbour but she was now sleeping, still wrapped in Heero's arms who had refused to let go of her.

Wu Fei turned a corner that would take them straight to the docking area when he stopped the stopped the carriage so suddenly it made it jerk violently.

Blocking the way to the docks with their horses, the Chinese man saw Trowa and Milliardo. The platinum blond man giving Wu Fei a murderous look.

END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A/N: Well guys, this is the LAST chapter….I've already written the epilogue and I will upload it as soon as I finish editing it. 

As always, thank you all for your support!! You're really great people!!

Now, back to the fic…

Chapter Fifteen

Heero got off the carriage to see the reason why Wu Fei had stopped half expecting to see a cart toppled over with its contents spilled on the road.

His body tensed up seeing the two men standing in front of them. Heero started walking towards Milliardo.

"Heero don't!" Trowa suddenly said understanding Heero's intentions, he was obviously going to add something else but a feminine voice interrupted him.

"Milliardo…we need to talk…".

"Relena, we don't need to talk…you need to go back to Hanoi…" Milliardo started saying but he was interrupted once again by his sister:

"NO…Don't you understand? I love…".

"Relena…wait…" Trowa said closing the distance between him and the girl. Then, he lifted his right hand and placed it on Relena's left shoulder giving her a look that was trying to be reassuring.

"Milliardo, you've got to let them go…" Trowa said knowing he could no longer hide a truth he had tried to save for a desperate situation, just like this one.

"What are you talking about Barton?" Milliardo said looking confused.

"It is obvious that Relena's heart is someone else's. And, besides…I have another, stronger reason that prevents me from marrying her…I'm going to be a father…" Trowa said shocking everyone, even Heero, with this revelation.

"What? You mean…" Relena started saying…

"Yes, Relena…Midii is pregnant…she told me last night…and, it has made me the happiest man alive…" Trowa said with his green eyes shining like two polished emeralds.

"Congratulations man…" Wu Fei said sincerely patting lightly the French man's left shoulder.

"Thanks…" replied Trowa removing his hand from Relena's shoulder, seeing the jealous look that Heero was giving him.

Trowa diverted his attention to Milliardo, almost fearing his reaction, which, more than likely, would not be pretty.

The English man just stood there not knowing what to say. He needed time to think…but he did not have time, he needed to take a decision and fast.

Then, without any warning, Milliardo walked to where his sister was and, taking it by her right arm, said:

"You said we need to talk, then, let's talk…".

With this Milliardo lead her to a small barn next to the road that lead to the docks.

"Leave them alone now…" Wu Fei said seeing that Heero had every intention of following them.

"But…" Heero started saying.

"He's right Heero…we should leave it in Relena's hands…after all, she is his sister…I'm sure Milliardo will have to take that in consideration…" Trowa said decidedly.

"Guess you're right…in any case, I haven't congratulated you yet…by the way, where's she now? I believe she was a very important part of this plan of yours…" Heero asked.

"She knows that church very well and she's hiding in a secret compartment between the altar and the sacristy. They won't be able to find her and, by the looks of it, they're looking for her everywhere else but the church…" replied Trowa seeming proud of the girl's cunningness.

Meanwhile, inside the barn, that was clearly used to store the fishing nets and other sea related material, Milliardo stood there giving his back to a very nervous Relena.

She still felt a bit weak but she was prepared to face anything. The girl was about to speak when Milliardo, turning round suddenly, said:

"You really love him, don't you?".

"Yes brother, I do…" Relena replied looking directly at his brother's ice blue eyes.

"I see…" Milliardo said sadly.

"Brother…you know that upsetting you is the last think I would have wanted to do…but, you've been a big disappointment for me…" Relena said getting a shocked look by her brother, then, before he could say anything, Relena added "When father died and you sent to me that telegram saying that I was more than welcome in your house, I was the happiest girl in the world…my long lost brother wanted me to live with him…I left England reluctantly because for me it was home but I was looking forward to seeing you. Then, I arrive here and I find out that you've already decided something as important to me as my own wedding…Milliardo, while I am grateful you were kind enough to have me in your house, you cannot plan my whole life, not after being away from me most of it. I love Heero, he loves me back and I will be happy with him…and, even though we don't need it, I would be grateful if you gave us your approval…please…".

Relena had started crying half way her speech but, as she finished it, she started sobbing quite violently.

Milliardo, seeing this, could not cope with it anymore, he walked towards her and took her in his arms placing a hand on the back of her head.

Relena returned the hug and placed her head on her brother's wide chest.

After a few minutes, during which, the platinum blond man seemed to be considering his options, Milliardo said:

"I'm sorry…you're right…I've been trying to plan your life and I had not thought of how you might have felt…" Milliardo said and then, with one of his long fingers, lifted his sister's face up and added "Right then, I guess I will have to accept your decision and let you be with that ninja fighter…".

"He's a samurai not a ninja fighter…"Relena said smiling through the tears. She just couldn't believe her brother had finally given in.

"Whatever…he will need to be both if he harms you in any way…because I will kill him if he does…" Milliardo said hugging her again protectively.

"I'm stronger than I look, you know…and, besides, he won't harm me…he loves me…" Relena replied.

"I know you're strong my little one…you're a natural born fighter, just like our mother…" Milliardo replied proudly.

"We should go to them, shouldn't we?" Relena asked hoping she didn't sound as eager as she was of seeing Heero again.

"Sure…I just want to ask you one more thing…what are you going to do now?" Milliardo asked.

"Well, I have a friend in America and I was going to go to her…her husband is a business man and I'm sure Heero could work for him or something like that…and as for me, I would help my friend in the school where she works…" Relena said resolutely.

"And what about our manor in England?" Milliardo asked.

"I don't know…the lawyers said that is for you to decide…" Relena replied.

"Alright then…I'll think of it later…now, let's go…" Milliardo said starting to walk back to the road.

As soon as they reached the other three men, Milliardo said, looking straight into Heero's dark blue eyes:

"Seeing Barton's future paternity, and having listened to what Relena had to say, I have no alternative but to accept my sister's choice…I cannot say it makes me happy to see her with someone like you but…I will put up with it…I only ask of you one thing: you'll have to marry her before you go to America…".

"BROTHER!!" shouted Relena hearing Milliardo's words. She didn't want Heero to propose like that, if he ever had intentions of marrying her anyway.

"I am not having this man disgracing your good name…so, do you accept my conditions?" Milliardo insisted looking at Heero with a look that left very little options to the Japanese man but to say:

"My intentions have always been honest. I had no will to leave this country without marrying your sister sir. I had something else in mind regarding the way I would do this but, you're not leaving me any other option…" Heero replied.

Then, shocking Relena, Heero walked to her and dropping on one knee, took one of her hands and said:

"Relena, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?".

Relena was speechless. She just could not speak…but she had to…

"Yes…" she said with such a small voice that no one, not even Heero, heard.

"Relena?" Heero asked confused.

"I said YES!!" Relena said dropping on her knees and hugging Heero. She was, once more, crying…she blamed the country's humid climate. She had never cried as much as she had cried in the past few weeks…

Milliardo interrupted them saying:

"We better go to the town's centre to find a church…".

The four men and Relena were about to move when they saw a group of horseman riding towards them. The leader's group was none other than the British governor Treize Khushrenada.

"Milliardo, Mr Barton! I see you caught them before they had the chance to leave!" the governor said getting off his horse.

Relena looked at her brother with a silent plead in her eyes. Heero was, once again, prepared to fight the enemy and Wu Fei was about to laugh out loud hysterically, this whole situation made him feel lucky his life was so simple.

Trowa just stood there silently. He just didn't know what else to do and was thinking really hard trying to have another good idea…

Then, Milliardo looked at him briefly before returning his gaze to Treize. Then the blond man said something that shocked everybody:

"Treize, I'm glad you're here…you will be able to assist to my sister's wedding…but not to Mr Barton but to Mr Yuy…".

"What are you talking about…Milliardo, are you out of your mind?" Treize said losing, for one second, his cool manners.

"Treize, my sister has been kind enough to let us know that she's expecting a baby and that, as you will understand, leave us with no options…" said Milliardo lying through his teeth.

Relena, at this point, just couldn't handle any more surprises and had to lean on Heero's chest grabbing his arms for support.

Heero himself was astonished at the lie but not entirely displeased…he hoped that, one day, Relena would announce something like that for real.

Trowa just smiled. Milliardo had saved him the trouble of making something else up while Wu Fei had to hide himself behind one of the carriage's horses to hide his huge grin. He enjoyed very much seeing Treize's shocked face.

"Now, if you don't mind, we're on our way to the church so, if you wish, you may follow us…" Milliardo said and, without waiting for a reply, the blond man got on his horse and asked Trowa to do the same. Then, Heero and Relena boarded the carriage and Wu Fei got, once more, on the driver's seat.

END OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

New Jersey 1888

"There you are!" Relena exclaimed finally finding what she had been looking for, realising she was talking aloud to herself.

Heero was in the office with Duo and Hilde was too busy taking care of her baby to help her as much as the half German girl would have wanted. Finally, after almost two years Relena and Heero were moving to their own house.

Relena sat down holding the wooden box that contained all the letters she had been writing to Hilde, to her brother and to Trowa Barton.

She had not seen the French man in just over two years, precisely since her wedding day.

Relena remembered the day like if it had been yesterday…

"MILLIARDO!!!" shouted Treize seeing the man he considered his best friend leave with Relena, Trowa and the two Asian men. Then, seeing that the platinum blond man wouldn't turn around, the governor quickly got on his horse and started chasing him.

"MILLIARDO!!! WAIT!!!" Treize kept shouting till, finally, Milliardo decided to stop briefly, just long enough to say:

"Nothing you'll say will make me change my mind…".

"I don't want you to change your mind…your sister is pregnant…there is nothing we can do about it but…you understand that your actions will…" Treize started saying but Milliardo, lifting one of his hands, made a gesture that stopped the dark red haired man.

"I know…and…to be perfectly honest, I don't care anymore…she's the only family I've got left…I'm not going to condemn her to an unhappy life…" Milliardo said determinately.

"Well…you're going to get in trouble…you know that, don't you?" Treize said with a sad voice.

"Yes, I know…but, I've had enough of living abroad…I've decided to move back to England, I have my family's manor there…." Milliardo said shocking Relena in the process.

"Milliardo…you…" the girl started asking.

"I've been thinking about it for a while…Lucrezia wants to be closer to Sicily…she's been missing her country almost as much as I've missed England…" Milliardo replied with a very strange look in his eyes, then he added, "You're more than welcome to come and live with us…".

"No, thank you. Heero and I would like to go to America. I have a friend living there..." Relena said looking briefly at Heero to see if he agreed with her. He nodded to show her he did.

Hearing this exchange Treize had to give up and, that same evening Relena and Heero became man and wife.

Relena's wedding had not been like she had planned in her little girl dreams. The church was dark and was lit with a few candles. There were no flowers decorating the room and her dress was a complete mess since she had been sitting on it for most of the day. Heero was wearing Trowa's jacket and he looked kind of funny with his Japanese style 'trousers' on the bottom half and a very proper, elegant tuxedo on the top one.

But Relena didn't care about it. The important thing is that, from that day, no one would separate her from Heero. The law was in her favour now for, being Heero's wife, she no longer depended on Milliardo.

Their wedding night was one of the most romantic nights of her life. Heero, although was a man of few words, proved himself a very caring, tender lover.

She remembered how scared she was at first when they were, for the first time, alone in a room with the whole night ahead.

Heero, seeing the fear, had kissed her softly and had told her:

"There is no rush. If you're not ready, don't worry…we've got our entire lives to do it…".

Relena, hearing this made an effort to shake the fear and the apprehension off.

"No…I want to do this…I love you Heero…and this is our wedding night…" Relena said as resolutely as she could.

Heero kissed her again, more passionately this time. Slowly he started undressing her and at the same time trying to get rid of his own clothes.

Finally, peeling off her chemise, Heero said:

"You're so beautiful…".

That night Relena understood why Midii and Trowa couldn't wait till marriage. Making love was an incredible experience. The pain she was expecting was so brief and followed by such a wave of pleasure that she didn't even remember it now.

They fell asleep in each others arms knowing that, from that night onwards, they would belong to each other.

Relena remembered the two years that followed their wedding night. They had left Burma together with Lucrezia and MIliardo. They had settled very well in the Peacecraft's manor in Penzance. Relena had travelled with them because she wanted to show Heero the place where she had grown up. From there they would sail to New York where Hilde was already waiting for her.

Trowa had also moved to Europe. After the whole affair he was left with little choice. He decided to leave the plantation to his sister Catherine as a wedding present after she had confessed she wanted to get married. From the last letter he had written to her, he seemed very happy. Midii had given him a beautiful baby girl that looked just like her and was now expecting their second baby.

The Winners had also decided to move once again. They had bought a house in the south of Spain and were living there with the twins Dorothy had just had.

The only ones that had stayed in the Indochinese region were Sally and Wu Fei but, after the first insurrections from the native people and, sensing the trouble ahead, Wu Fei and Sally decided to accept Lucrezia's invitation to move to England and now they lived there with their little boy.

Relena couldn't repress a smile remembering the day when Heero and Duo had met. Just like she had imagined Duo was the perfect opposite of Heero. Always happy with a great sense of humour and a positive attitude towards life, Duo was making titanic efforts to get Heero to become, as Duo often put it, more human. The American man, unbelievably, was beginning to succeed and Heero was now even able to make jokes, mostly about himself or Duo.

At first, before moving to their own house, Relena and Heero had moved in the Maxwell's residence and, as Relena had predicted, Heero soon found employment with Duo. He showed everyone how good he was organising things and soon the entire logistics of Duo's business were in Heero's hands.

Relena discovered that her friendship with Hilde had grown stronger even though they had not seen each other for a quite a long time. She had been thrilled to hear she was expecting her first baby.

Unfortunately, that had reminded her of something that had been bothering her for a while. Relena and Heero had been married for over two years and they still had to have a baby.

But Relena new that sooner or later, it would come.

A few days later, the Yuy's were visiting the Maxwell's to see how they were doing with little Gabriel. He was a bit of a handful, just like his father, Hilde said laughing.

Duo and Heero were waiting for dinner to be ready talking about business, as usual.

"Guys…cannot you talk about anything else?" Hilde said bored of hearing the same conversations going on and on between the two men.

"Yes darling…we could speak about something else but…I don't think it would be a very appropriate conversation for you to hear it…" Duo said winking an eye to Heero who knew just how much the American man liked to wind his wife up.

"OH!! You can be so vulgar!!" Hilde said pretending to be offended. Then the woman turned around to go to the kitchen where Relena was preparing the gravy.

On her way there, the half German girl heard a thump coming from the kitchen. Running towards it to see what it was, Hilde found Relena laying unconscious on the floor.

"HEEROOOOO!!! DUOOO!!! HELP!!!" the two men heard her shout making them get up with a jolt.

Soon Relena was being visited by a doctor while Duo was trying his very best to cheer Heero up while Hilde was tending her baby.

Finally, after what seemed ages to Heero, the doctor came out of the room where Relena was.

"What's wrong doc?" Duo asked nervously hoping the good man had good news.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Mr Yuy…your wife is expecting a baby…" the doctor said smiling patting Heero's left shoulder.

"WOW!!! Man you're going to be a daddy!!!!" Duo shouted getting so excited that it looked as though as he was the one becoming a father.

Heero didn't say anything. He walked in the room where Relena was resting and sat by her side on the bed. The slight movement made Relena open her blue eyes.

"What am I doing here?" the girl asked a bit confused.

Then, holding one of her hands, he finally said:

"Relena, we're going to have a baby…".

Relena couldn't believe her ears. A baby. They were going to have a baby. She was finally giving Heero a child. But something was wrong. Heero looked so serious, almost as if he was angry.

"Heero? Aren't you happy about it?" Relena asked slowly fearing the answer.

"What? Of course I am…is just that…I…Relena, do you think I'm going to be a good father?" Heero asked so childishly that Relena burst out laughing.

"Of course you silly…you're going to be a great father!!" Relena said still laughing.

"How do you know?" Heero insisted.

"Because I do…you're a great husband, therefore you'll be great as a father…" Relena said getting serious.

Heero hugged her in response.

"I love you Heero Yuy" Relena whispered.

"I love you too Relena…" Heero said looking at his wife.

And, just like in the fairy tales that Relena had read so avidly when she had been a little girl, the prince and the princess lived happily ever after.

**THE END **

A/N: Please don't hate me! I know it has taken me over two weeks to post the epilogue but, after reading a few of the reviews for chapter 15, I decided to rewrite it so it would include some lime and lots of sappy moments. I really hope everyone is happy with the end because I don't think I'll write a sequel, the reason being because I'm working on a fan fiction that has nothing to do with GW. Also, because sometimes a story is best left without a sequel…

Before leaving you alone, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart that has read this story and, for those kind enough to review it: YOU'RE TRULY GREAT PEOPLE!! YOU'RE THE BEST INCENTIVE IN THE WORLD, THANK YOU FOR EXISTING!!

A big hug to everyone,

Sanae


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